Paperwork. I never knew a dog would require so much of it. Okay it may not be that much but for someone who takes a week to organize sending out a simple letter it is a feat.

First the was the contract we had to sign to get Finn. No problems there as it was exciting to have a puppy, plus the packet of information we got from the breeders was necessary and appreciated. Of course included in that packet were some of Finn's medical records, which is where thigns get messier. Each Vet trip requires a diagnosis sheet and a bill at minimum. Because we have pet insurance there is the added need for duplicates for everything. I would go my normal route of getting .pdf's of everything or saving it on a computer but I have yet to get to a scanner and the Vet does not offer this as an option (although I did not ask, I will next time now that I thought of it). Maybe one day they'll be able to put it on his microchip.

It is more than just the insurance. Finn also had to be registered with the city of Los Angeles, which required I send them a copy of his neutering and all his vaccinations. Then we needed another set of records to give to the nice folks at Cage-Free K9's where Finn will be staying while we are out of town. Our trainer needed a copy when we enrolled him in class too.

What's more Finn is a pure bred Golden Retriever so we had to certify him with the AKC, which required yet another set of vaccination records. Turns out sending them records is just the beginning. In return we get a whole novel's worth of E-mails, Coupons, Pedigree's (3 Generation) and tons of junk mail that I'm sure is on it's way as we speak.