Sonoma

Sonoma and Amanda

You may be thinking "Williams-Sonoma", "Sonoma wine country", "Sonoma County"... but what(who) I'm going to tell you about is Sonoma Schroeder. A sweet 9-year-old family dog and a mighty fine resident and Dog of Chapel Hill. A "mini" golden doodle (mini poodle + golden retriever) from Liberty Pines Doodles. I promise I'm not (too) biased folks, this really is a coincidental pattern of blog posts about golden doodles. Anyway... I met Sonoma through her sister Amanda and loved her from the start. As an older dog, she has a lot of personality and clearly a lot of love for her family. We had our interview at Merritt's - the home of an incredible BLT and one of my very favorite local spots in Chapel Hill. If you haven't been there, go ASAP. It's not going anywhere, but it will make your life instantly better with that first overwhelming whiff of bacon when you walk through the door. 

We sat outside on a beautiful Sunday afternoon as Sonoma very diligently sniffed for bacon scraps under every table. She was friendly to all the BLT eaters and the other dogs walking by. She'd wander off on her long leash and we'd have to reel her back from greeting the people sitting at the table next to us.. A people person, really. She loves to have her time with her family and spends an hour or so before bedtime most nights resting in the human bed with her family. She's not so fond of other people being on her dog bed though... a little territorial in that way. Somoma also loves other dogs and tries to act tough around them, but she usually gives in and rolls over on her back when playing with little dogs. I think that's one of the many things that witness to her sweet sensitivity. She gives kisses on command and even licks away the tears when you cry. That may be for the love of the salty taste too, but we'll give her the benefit of the doubt and credit her sensitivity instead.

As for the other things that make Sonoma's life full and happy, she loves a good kong with peanut butter in it - ATTN. dog owners: these are great when frozen! For recipes to make for a kong and make your puppy extra happy, go here. 

Sonoma also enjoys being at the beach, but has never quite grown to like the waves. She doesn't much like stairs either in her older years, possibly because of her eyesight and trouble with depth perception. But get this girl an elevator and she's good to go! Who needs stairs anyway, right?

Throughout her nine years, Sonoma has certainly mellowed out and learned to appreciate the calm parts of being a dog. Her puppy times creep back in every now and then and she has certainly not lost her spunk, but she enjoys a good day of napping too. Who doesn't though? She's "tolerant" of cuddles and loves to show her family that she loves them. Especially her mama who keeps an eye out for her during the day and night. For her family and everyone she meets, she makes them happy and takes away any and all bad feelings. At the end of the day, that's what we all need. We should all be like this sweet Sonoma.

A huge thank you to Amanda for telling me her story and for sharing her puppy time with me! Thank you also to all of you who tune in and show love for the Dogs of Chapel Hill. If any of you know any Tar Heel pups, please let me know! I'd love to meet them and have them on the blog. Have a lovely start to your week! 

Until next time,
Lily