Watch This Surprise: Welcoming Lizzy's Newest Furry Family Member

When I was little, I had a puppy named Nelly. She was our family’s pride and joy. Nelly, a medium-sized reddish golden retriever, brought laughter, memories, and so much love into our lives for over 16 years.

As a child, having a companion like Nelly was incredibly important. My wife Nelly and I have been discussing officially adding a furry family member, and we finally decided to take the leap.

We only wanted to rescue at first, and were just about to start our search when my colleague, Senior Marketing Consultant Merry St. Pierre, let me know that her new dog had a litter of puppies. The breed? Purebred Miniature Australian Shepherds. I said no, and moved on. Shortly after that, my wife and I saw Merry at an event, and she had one of the puppies with her. The moment my wife met this puppy, a bond occurred. Guys, it was like magic. There were a lot of people around, but the seven-week-old puppy only went to Nelly. He would crawl and snuggle between her legs.

After spending hours with this pup, that's when I got the look. You know, THAT look. The look your partner or wife gives you when you know they've changed their mind.

The photo below shows proof that puppies pick their families. But we all fell in love with him at different times. He sucked Nelly in that first day she met him, but I was still unsure.

Lizzy Snyder

Faced with a decision, I left it up to my wife. She decided that we should take some time to think about it, then see if the bond was still there. So we visited Merry and the puppies. It was.

Lizzy Snyder

The bond was still there between Nelly and the pup. That's when we decided to adopt this beautiful Australian Shepherd.

But like I said, the bonding happened at different times for all of us.

When the day came, I went alone to pick him up. The 40-minute drive was interesting, to say the least. At first, the puppy was pretty frantic, yelping and howling in the car, but as I talked to him about our future and my son, he slowly fell asleep in my arms.

That’s when I fell in love with him.

Lizzy Snyder

He came home with us, and we prepared for the big surprise: showing our incredible seven-year-old Bentley his new puppy!

Bentley has been the best little kid a mom could ask for, and we've been dreaming of getting a dog since he was two. I remember when we were living with my mom before buying our house. One summer night, we were outside looking at the moon and cuddling.

Bentley said, "After we get our house, I want a dog and I want to name him, Moondog."

So, this name has been waiting a long time for the perfect dog.

We wanted to surprise Bentley the old-fashioned way, with Moon waiting for him in a cardboard box with a bow. It couldn't have gone any better. Bentley walked up the stairs, and the light on his face when he saw the box was everything we hoped for.

The video below says it all.