Cosmic Timing: The Puppy We Almost Didn’t Get
Shortly after Jackson passed away in July 2022, I reached out to my friend who bred both Jackson and Tinkerbell to ask to be added to her puppy waiting list. We were all missing him terribly, including Tinkerbell, who had not played with her toys or chewed her moose antlers since his passing. I knew that we would want to bring another dog into our family sooner rather than later. Since we were unsure of when her next litter would arrive—she is a truly responsible and ethical breeder and does not breed many litters unless she has a waiting list or is adding another dog to her own household – we decided it was best to get on the list early, as it could be a long wait.
To our surprise, she responded that she had actually bred one of her females the very weekend that Jackson passed away, and the puppies were due in mid-September. Not only were these new lives conceived the same weekend Jax passed, but his father was in the lineage. We sent in a deposit and she placed us at the top of her list for a puppy to come home in mid-November. This is the story of our Labrador retriever Quill and how we almost passed up our chance to get him, except for some cosmic timing and a special song that changed everything.
Dancing in September: Naming Quill
Labrador retrievers are pregnant for around 63 days, and puppies typically go to their new homes at 8 weeks. Since we joined the wait list shortly after the conception of the puppies, we had a long wait until our dog would be ready to join our family. While we waited, we brainstormed names. I had a long list of options in a Notes document on my phone, where I was brainstorming potential call names and creative but meaningful AKC names.
I wanted a name that was easy to say during training. My father, who hunted birds and trained retrievers, taught me that a one-syllable name is ideal. However, I also wanted something cool and unique that held meaning. I admit, though, that Jackson got his name partly because Charlie Hunnam from Sons of Anarchy is easy on the eyes. When I first named him, Jax was just becoming popular, and I wanted another name that was just as perfect for this new boy.
On my long list of names were:
– Walt
– Han or Solo
– Jarvis
– Marshall
– Newton
– Fergus
– Ryder
– Hunter
– Hank
– Finn
– Hudson
– Sven or Hans
– Rye
– Cash
– Coal
– Maximus
– Obi-Wan
– Pascal
– Dug
– Dixon
– Eclipse (my breeder has several dogs with Pink Floyd names)
– Quill
Quill emerged as my favorite from this extensive list. When I shared the names with our college-aged daughter and my husband, they didn’t respond to any of them until I mentioned Quill. After that, I began using it when talking about our future puppy and felt certain it would be the name we chose.
The puppies were born in mid-September and would be ready to go to their forever homes by mid-November. During Halloween that year, my husband and I took our annual fall trip to Disney World. It was our first visit since the opening of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride, and since Guardians is my all-time favorite Marvel movie, I couldn’t wait to experience it.
If you’ve never been to Epcot and ridden Cosmic Rewind, it’s an indoor coaster in the dark with speakers right next to your head. Six different songs can play during the ride, and you never know which one you’ll get. On our first ride, we were treated to the song “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
“Do you remember
The 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds away
Our hearts were ringing
In the key that our souls were singing
As we danced in the night, remember
How the stars stole the night away?”
https://youtu.be/qyuHKshofeE?si=Rzi5l20hV8-ltwte&t=85
We got off the ride, feeling like little kids, overflowing with happiness and excitement. “That was the best ride I’ve ever been on!” I exclaimed as we exited. “We are definitely naming the puppy Quill because he was born in September!” I practically shouted, unable to contain my enthusiasm.
Throughout the rest of our vacation, my excitement about our new family member grew. I referred to him as Quill, convinced that we had found the perfect name for our soon-to-arrive puppy. I talked endlessly about possible AKC names and how he would become Mom’s little Star Lord. I pointed out that Peter Quill’s character loved “Footloose” and Kevin Bacon, and I realized that I could personally connect to Kevin Bacon in less than seven degrees through connections in the college textbook industry. It felt like fate that this was to be our puppy’s name and that he would soon be a part of our family.
When Life Said “Not Now”—But Our Hearts Said “Yes”
Unfortunately, just a few days after we returned home from our Disney trip, my husband’s appendix decided it was an obsolete organ and was no longer needed in his body. The surgeon described his case as one of the worst instances of burst appendicitis he had ever encountered. My husband underwent an emergency appendectomy, which resulted in him being hospitalized for a week. He spent only one day at home before returning to the hospital for an additional week due to complications.
During that second week in the hospital, we learned that my husband’s recovery would be long and difficult. He would not be able to return to his job as a firefighter/paramedic until at least the start of the new year. Given the extensive recovery time—during his hospital stay he lost 30 pounds, a lot of muscle mass, and stamina—and the reality that he would be on at least two months of sick leave and then light-duty assignments (which means no overtime), we decided to write to our breeder. We let her know the situation and asked her to skip us on her puppy list and let the puppy go to the next person waiting for him.
I was heartbroken. I had wanted that puppy so badly that I felt a physical pain in turning down the opportunity to get him. However, I knew that I had to prioritize my husband’s health and well-being.
Choosing Quill Again: A Song That Changed Everything
The two weeks my husband spent in the hospital were incredibly tough. With both of our daughters away at school, it was just Tinkerbell and me at home every day. I would visit the hospital every afternoon until around dinner time, usually picking up takeout on my way home to settle in with Tink for the night. Having her by my side was invaluable. I can’t imagine how much more difficult those weeks would have been without her. It was unsettling to see the strong, steady rock of my life in such a vulnerable state. Each day, the doctors would say he might be going home soon, only to keep him there for another day.
On the day he was finally released, I was on my way to pick him up when the song “My Sweet Lord” came on the radio. As I listened, I started to cry, reminded of the scene where the Guardians go to Peter Quill’s father’s planet in the second Guardian’s movie.
The more the song played, the harder I cried, thinking about the puppy we had turned down and how I genuinely felt he was meant to be ours. By the time I pulled into the hospital parking garage, I was crying so much that I had to pull over for a moment to collect myself before finding a parking spot. Once parked, I picked up my phone and texted my breeder.
“Did you find a home for that puppy yet?” I asked.
“Not yet. I have some people interested, but I’m not sure he’s the right fit for them and vice versa,” she replied almost immediately.
“I think he was supposed to be my dog,” I texted back.
“I think so too,” she answered. Before I could respond, she added, “I can give you a few days to think about it before I keep looking for someone else.”
“Yes, I would love that. I know I want him, but I have to talk to my husband first,” I replied.
If you’ve been following this blog or my social media, you know that the discussion I had with my breeder led us to finally get our boy. We decided to wait until mid-December to bring him home so that my husband would have several weeks to recover from his abdominal surgery.
Although we would have preferred to bring him home at 8 weeks, she was happy to keep him with her a little longer. As a professional dog trainer, she began teaching him his name and working on basic obedience cues, as well as some fun tricks on a Balance 360 exercise platform. I managed to find one for our own home, and we have continued that training to this day, almost three years later.
Quill’s Unique Personality and Noises
Although Jackson was Quill’s great-uncle in human terms, Quill couldn’t be more different from his late big brother. While Jax was sweet and loving, he tended to be physically aloof. He was not one to give a lot of puppy kisses or snuggle for too long. Quill has always tried to exhibit attention seeking behavior and is more snuggly.
The first thing I noticed about Quill the moment I met him was his vocalizations. He is by far the most talkative Labrador I have ever had. He barks at our suburban wildlife, which includes bunnies, squirrels, and birds—his trifecta of antagonism. Additionally, he has a strange growl/scent behavior that he displays on walks, but what truly stands out are his “Quilly Noises.”
Quilly Noises sound sad and whiny, mixed with a bit of Chewbacca from Star Wars; however, they are actually happy sounds. I noticed these noises the very first second I met him, and he has been making them ever since—except during a brief period when he was sick in December 2023. In fact, the temporary loss of his noises during that time was one of the reasons I pursued a Myasthenia Gravis diagnosis for him, as this condition can affect the vocal cords.
We joke and tell Quill that Chewie is from the wrong galaxy, as he shouldn’t sound like a Wookiee. He makes these noises whenever he becomes extremely excited, usually when he wakes up from a nap—seeming genuinely surprised to see us after his deep sleep—or when someone new comes home, and he greets them. His excitement is often accompanied by back-and-forth wriggling through our legs and his own version of the “Nala stomps,” which the Golden Retriever Nala has made famous on her social media channels. As Gen Z would say, “it’s a whole vibe.”
Quill Lives Up to the Ravager Name
True to his Labrador nature, Quill is an energetic and playful dog. He always requires something in his mouth, especially when greeting a returning family member or visitor. Whether it’s a toy, a shoe, or whatever he can grab first, he runs around until he finds something, which is why my shoes and slippers are often scattered throughout the house. He also loves to bring his toys into the bathroom when he accompanies me, so each week I end up removing a small collection of toys from the powder room before vacuuming.
Quill truly lives up to his namesake, Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord. For those unfamiliar with the Guardians of the Galaxy storyline, Peter Quill was taken from Earth as a child after his mother passed away and adopted by a group of space pirates and thieves called the Ravagers. Every time my own Quill “steals” something around the house, I laugh and remark that I named him after a thief.
Stealing contraband is just part of normal puppy shenanigans. The truth is that Quill is eager to please and is a joy to train. I have continued the training exercises our breeder started during the extra month she had with him, adding additional cues as well. Every day, we work on basic commands like “stand,” “wait,” and “long sit/wait,” as well as more advanced skills like “middle” (sitting/waiting under our legs), “circle left,” “circle right,” “pop up,” “tuck sit,” “kick stand,” and “crawl.” We incorporate some variation of these exercises most days. This training works both his body and mind, and one day I hope to create a canine freestyle dancing routine with him. In the meantime, this bonding time is a fun way to spend our time together.
Right now, we are getting accustomed to life with Quill as the only dog. We have discussed adding another dog to our family in a year or two, but we want a larger age gap between our dogs than we had with Jackson and Tinkerbell. Losing both of them so close together was emotionally very challenging, so we are trying to wait until Quill is at least four years old before adding a sibling to the family. Additionally, Tink struggled with liver issues for most of Quill’s life, so it feels right to focus on giving him our undivided attention for now. Currently, we are working on leash training and have started daily walks, which I will explore more in the following article.
Prepared, Not Perfect: Why We Said Yes to Quill
I spend a lot of time helping dog lovers prepare—emotionally, practically, and for worst-case scenarios—for life with a dog. I believe in being ready. It’s essential to understand what you’re getting into so that you can set your dog up for success from day one.
However, sometimes life throws you a curveball. It could be an emergency appendectomy right before your new dog is due to come home. When Quill came into our lives, we had a lot going on to make us say no. But we said yes anyway because we realized that we could handle a little chaos now to avoid missing out on many years of love, laughter, and Quilly’s unique sounds and personality. We said yes because we knew that no matter what else happened, once he came home to us, he would be our dog forever.
We didn’t choose Quill because the timing was perfect. We chose him because sometimes your heart knows the right choice. We decided to bring him into our lives because, even amid uncertainty, we knew we would show up for him. We understood that being prepared isn’t just about having the ideal circumstances—it’s about having the right heart.
Most importantly, we said yes because commitment to an animal of any species means figuring it out, even when you don’t have all the answers. Love doesn’t always wait for the perfect conditions; it shows up, adapts, and stays. And that’s what being a dog owner truly means.
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