You never get over your first love. Crushing on them from afar. Hoping beyond hope that they feel the same way. And finally, when they return all the gazes you've sent their way, you melt. There isn't anything you wouldn't do to be together. It's puppy love. And although we've got that going on over here, I can't actually blog about that because the kids would kill me. So, today I'm actually talking about dogs.
My kids have wanted a dog forever. They have cajoled. Pleaded. Guilted. Shown us countless websites of cute puppies. But, when this all started, the kids were young. And then we moved to Africa and were traveling constantly. Before we left for Morocco, I may have bribed the kids by promising them a dog when we returned. I'm not exactly sure. But the kids remembered. In fact, they could tell you the color of the sweater I was wearing when I said it. And what we ate for dinner that night.
The thing is, we already have enough going on with our own four kids who chew on things, shed and poop all over the place. And we just got this new sense of freedom that comes once you don't need to have a babysitter watch the kids anymore. I don't want to have to make arrangements for a dog and find a dog sitter when we go on vacation. As if we don't have enough to do. But, I promised.
So, we went to the Humane Society to look for a dog. However, we soon found that getting a dog who needed a home from the shelter in Colorado Springs was much harder than it seemed. Because, Coloradans love dogs. So, if we wanted a shelter dog, we would need to sit in the lobby and dog stalk. We might even have to fist fight other dog stalkers. Which I was totally committed to. I've been doing a lot of kick boxing lately. But, it's totally creepy and I really don't have time for it. Otherwise, I would totally be in.
The question is, where else could we find a dog who needed a home? Voila. Craig's list. Were we could cyber stalk and still be in our pjs. Perfect! So, we found two dogs, increasing our chances for success, and made appointments to meet them on the same night, one right after the other. Hopefully we'd end up with a dog by the end of the night.
The first one, Roxy, was an adorable, mild mannered lab mix. All of us thought she would be a great fit but, we had another puppy to meet. An hour later, we met Armani, who turned out to be a lab/pit bull mix. And that didn't mix so well with us. So, when we got back into the car and unanimously voted for Roxy, we called immediately and left a message. A very love letter of sorts. When the kids went to bed and we still hadn't heard anything, we texted. Roxy was gone. The next morning Jade was brokenhearted and cried for an hour. And I sent her to school with big puffy eyes. Puppy love sucks.
A couple of days later, there's another lead on Craig's list. And we went to sniff it out. This time, it was true love. A beautiful 2 year old black labrador retriever rescue dog, we named Bonnie.
And her accomplice and life companion, Clyde. Of course.
That's the legend of Bonnie and Clyde. As if there's another one that could compare.
8 comments:
Ah, the dog issue. My brother wanted a dog when he was younger. (Of course, that never meant he was responsible to feed, walk, or train it...) My son desperately wanted one- and, when he asked, I was traveling 3 days a week. And, had carpeted floors. So, my answer was simple- no. His mom got him the dog he wanted. And, amazingly, different from my brother, he took take of this rescue dog. Kudos to him...
(I had my fill taking care of the dog my brother so desperately wanted...)
oh my goodness, not just one, but two furry new friends! i guess since you're already committed to finding sitters when you travel even if you have just one, you might as well get a second. maybe they'll keep each other company.
yay, doggies!
Ah yes, they creep in (lunge?) and suddenly you love them madly! Congrats darlin', may God give you patience and a singular adoration for your vacuum. You're going to need it.
xo
OMG you went for one and came home with two? You're better people than we are! Funny, we also may have promised very vaguely that all that moving around might be enough hardship to warrant a dog, finally, and then we promptly forgot about it when we arrived here. Or my husband did, who hates dogs. So I ended up getting a cat instead, which everyone adores, except said husband. (he's been known to put it on a float in the middle of the pool). We said from the get go that we wouldnt' bring the cat back to the US (because it's happier here, right??) so I wonder if we have to promise anything else for moving yet again?
@ Roy-So I'm guessing no more dogs for you.
@ Sherillin- I think I already have dog sitters lined up!
@ Chantel-Would you believe my vacuum is currently broken? It's true!
@ Sine- We got a cat in Morocco, it died of Cat Scratch Fever. NO freakin' joke. I thought that was just a song...
At least you had a good reason for promising your kids a dog. I promised mine a dog when he was 11 years old if he got through my nursing degree years without getting into trouble, ie. drugs and alcohol. He hasn't (knock on wood) so we got our ugly little black dog for him in June. Now I like the dog more than the teenager, who by the way, spends his days playing on his computer, so guess who walks the ugly little black dog. I think Bonnie and Clyde are adorable. Plus Labs are so faithful it's a little ridiculous. I can't pee without my black lab cross practically in my lap.
@ Sandra-Dogs are far preferable to teenagers even when they pee all over your favorite Turkish rug!
Bonnie and Clyde are beautiful and very fortunate to be in your tribe. I can't wait until the shit hits the fan and they start their doggy antics. I'll be sitting here laughing with coffee squiring out of my nose. Thank you for adopting these beautiful dogs and for giving me something to look forward to;)
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