Happy Birth Day Prince Finn Kemp

Today is my little pup's first birthday! I sound like a human mom, lol, reflecting on pictures from the day we adopted him to today. I can't believe you have grown from 3lbs to 15lbs!

August 31, 2013

Unlike many things that I do in my life, we adopted Prince on a whim! Sure, Coach Kemp and I had discussed buying a dog in the coming months after our arrival to Toledo, but my internet search on a Thursday afternoon resulted in me finding your picture on the Toledo Animal Shelter website. And then he was taken home on Saturday morning, August 31st, to dog-parents who had not done much research on Pomeranians, puppies, or anything in between!

Sure I grew up with a dog, but that is not the same as raising one in your own home! Potty training for a stubborn dog, aka Prince, was not the easiest feat to be had. Luckily, we have that mastered! And, we made it through teething, although a few things did get destroyed. But all in all, I would not trade your cute little face for anything.

I often get asked about how we chose the name Prince. I had a few names in mind - Dutch (if the dog was female), Duke, and Prince. Coach Kemp detested all of those names. So once I set eyes on him, I figured Baer would be a cute name. I know many dogs his frame get that name, but I desired to spell it differently so figured that would set him apart from the rest of the pack.

While shopping, frantically, prior to picking him up, Coach Kemp stopped me in "mid-throw it in the bag" action and simply stated that he could not handle the name Baer even if we spelled it differently than Bear. See, Coach Kemp is a huge Green Bay Packers fan and could not fathom having a pet with a name anywhere similar to the Chicago Bears! So, he agreed with Prince. We later decided that was more fitting since we adopted him from a shelter, so he was the Fresh Prince of Toledo. Got to love being a kid from the 90s!!

Cheers little guy for year #1 in the books. I pray and hope for many, many more!

June 2, 2014

Michelyn