Meet Ace!!!

On Friday Sept. 21, Jon took a trip out to Grand Island, Nebraska to adopt our new dog, Ace. He is a medium Schnauzer, neutered male and is just over one year old.

Once Jon took the job with Lutheran Hour Ministries, Chelsea said if you travel for work, then I want a dog at home to keep me company. Now that we have a house with a fenced-in backyard, Chelsea felt there was no excuse NOT to get a dog. Jon had told Chelsea that they wouldn't be getting a dog until next summer because he wanted her to be home to train the dog. So, in conversations, Jon would be very adamant about not getting a dog so Chelsea did not expect the surprise at all!  Ace was Chelsea's early birthday present from Jon...

Starting in early September, Jon began looking online at the local humane society's websites to see if they had any Cockapoo or Schnauzers. These were two breeds of dogs that Chelsea wanted bc they are not overly large, and neither of the shed. Once Jon realized that the reality of these breeds of dogs being left in a shelter was very low, he began calling local breeders from the classifieds in the papers. Another road block arose when Cockapoo puppies were selling for anywhere from $800-$1,000 and Schnauzers were $400-$600. Not exactly what we had in mind to spend after we drained our savings account for the house.  ;)

It was such a blessing when Jon got off the phone with a good friend, Karen, and she called back 10 minutes later saying, she had found a Schnauzer that needed rescuing. Ace had been left at the Central Nebraska Humane Society in Grand Island five days before Karen called. (Karen spent many years living close to Grand Island and was familiar with their humane society. Jon had not even thought to look at their website...)

Knowing how rare it was to find a Schnauzer who is super cute, at a shelter, Jon knew that the likelihood of the dog staying there for very long was low, it was time to act. Jon called the humane society on Thursday afternoon around 4:45 p.m. They closed at 6 p.m., and they would not guarantee they could "hold" him until Jon could get there the next morning. SO, on Friday morning, Jon left with two friends, Kyle and Angela, to drive to Grand Island at 8:30 a.m., to arrive at the humane society right when they opened at 10 a.m.  

(Last part, I promise!  :) )

Kyle thought this was hilarious. Jon stepped up to the counter to ask if he could see Alfie (Ace's name the shelter gave him for 6 days). After taking Ace out for a brief walk around the building, Jon came back in and handed the lady at the counter Driver's License and Credit Card and said, "I'd like to adopt him, and can you start the process while I go play with him in the toy room?"  :)  Needless to say, Jon loved Ace from the get go and here are some photos to sum up the rest of the story.

On the road to Grand Island, NE to the Central Nebraska Humane Society.

Ace jumped right into Jon's lap after they brought him to the lobby.

Jon took Ace for his first walk and tried to teach
him the importance of sitting when instructed.

What a good boy....

Kyle & Angela Kaldahl went with Jon to help bring Ace back
to Lincoln. Kyle and Jon lived together for 2 years at Concordia
and were on the tennis team together and Kyle was an usher
in our wedding as well.  It was great for Jon to have some
moral support from such trusted friends.

Jon with the completed adoption form.

Once we arrived back home in Lincoln, the first stop was introducing Ace to his new, big backyard. First thing he found, was a comfortable spot to sit in the shade. (Hindsight, Ace had been neutered the day before we adopted him and the cool grass probably felt good on his surgery area.)

Ace still loves to sit on top of the plants in the shade under our deck.

It didn't take us very long to realize that Ace knew how to fetch...

He even brings it back to you, most of the time.  :)

Ace meeting Abby through the fence.
Abby is a 10 month old yellow lab so they are
actually pretty close in age, just not size.
Ace is about 20 pounds while Abby is closer to 80.  :)

Ace loved having Kyle and Angela play with him.
Thanks Kaldahls for helping Jon go pick Ace up!

Later Friday afternoon, our good friend, Karen Chittick, came to meet Ace and to help with the transition of bringing Ace home. Karen has always had dogs and is quite experienced with adopting dogs from humane societies. Karen and Jon worked together in the Marketing Office at Concordia and she also did the bulletin for our wedding. Jon called Karen on Thursday to share his plans to buy a schnauzer puppy when Karen mentioned the idea of adopting one. Within 10 minutes after they hung up, Karen called back saying she found a perfect schnauzer to adopt in Grand Island.  :)  Thanks Karen for helping us get Ace because without you, we wouldn't have the little guy!

Karen helped Ace shop for some of the essentials at Petsmart.

Karen bought Ace his own name tag! It was cool seeing the
machine at Petsmart engrave the tag in less than a minute.
Thanks again Karen for the nice gift!

Look at everything we brought home for the little chap!

Ace enjoying his new bed in his "room."  :)

Ace bonded very quickly with Karen who
rescued her own dog, Olive, earlier this year.
Thanks for helping with the transition Karen!

The face of Ace:

 After Chelsea got home from school, Jon had dinner ready on the table and had her immediately come over to the computer where he began playing a slideshow of photos from the day's adventures. Surprisingly, Chelsea watched the entire show before wanting to know where he was.  Jon thought for sure that after three or so photos Chelsea would leap up off the couch and go find her present. Soon enough, Chelsea found him out back and quickly the two began playing.  :)

Isn't his face so inviting?

Below is a video of Chelsea tickling Ace. We didn't know this but we do now that he LOVES to roll onto his back and have you rub his stomach. He usually just falls over on his back and expects to be given some attention... :)

These photos are from a few recent days, but they still are pretty cute.

Ace loves car rides especially being able to see
out the back window.

On Ace's first week anniversary of living with us, we gave
him his first bath. Again, surprising to us, he didn't mind
actually being in the tub, but once he got out, he freaked out
and ran up and down the house for about 20 minutes.  ;)

Ace loves meeting people and is a very personable dog. One thing we are working on is him not trying to nibble on people's fingers. We've found out that this is his sign that he wants to play but other than that, he has been a God send. Come over and meet him sometime, he'll love you!