We went to our friends' for dinner. That's Jennifer in the picture above. They're dog had 9 pups. Jim was, "no way are we coming home with a dog." I wanted one...mostly the thought of one. There are things about having a dog I just don't miss...mainly dog hair, vet bills, spending money, and figuring what to do with it when we go out of town. So, off we go, planning on coming home with the same number we left with.
Jim goes into the room to look at the pups and walks out with one in his hand. I knew we were in trouble at that point. He said he wasn't expecting any of the pups to look have the smooth hair of a lab. He doesn't like the way Labradoodles look with the wiry, curly hair. (Sorry, doodle owners). So, very quickly, my friend Jennifer starts packing up the dog food and her husband gives the dog her shot and de-worming thing. Whoa! Then came the real kicker. First, they said we could do a trial run. If after a week things just didn't work out, we bring her back. Second, when we go out of town, we take her there for them to take care of. Gee, what more could you ask....besides paying for vet bills. :)
Now, most of you don't the history of us and dogs. Before we had children, we got a dog. You know...the, 'having trouble having kids, so get a dog syndrome'. So, we spoil the dog for nearly 2 years. Then we begin having kids...one every other year. Long story short, Dante (the dog) did not like it. Then add the FX on top of it and it was a mix for disaster. Dante began loosing his hair, gaining a lot of weight, and peeing on the floor. In a nutshell, the vet said he was stressed. So, we gave him to a good family. No more dog. Never planned to get another dog. Hmmmm.
Well, all the way home, Ian and Avery were blurting out name ideas. Avery wants to name her every princess there is, and Ian...well, he just blurts out names. Avery's favorite was Cinderella. Ian's favorite was Jesus. It was quite cute. So, as we were going through all the video characters they know, we finally settled on Ellie (the name of the female mammoth on Ice Age 2).
She's doing great so far. The kids don't seem as interested in her as I thought they would. Avery likes her and will read to her. Ian's indifferent. Benjamin most of the time doesn't like her and will cry because she, of course, jumps and nips. Potty training, you ask? Well, I don't want to jinx it all (if you believe in that), but it's almost like she's already potty-trained. She's only had 1 small accident in the house. Otherwise, pees and poops outside....but despises the heat! Who can blame her? She has black fur!
So, we'll see in a week if we still have a dog.
3 comments:
I'm a little jealous, I think it's such a good experience for children, esp. FX children, to have a dog. We have a cat, but it's not the same, as I'm sure you know. I relate to your previous dog experience too. My dog Friday had to go live with another family too, he was very jumpy around the kids and he bit one of the boys when they were around 16 months old. I miss Friday but I don't miss the dog hair or the vet bills....it's worth it though. So good for those kids!
I can't believe you got a puppy. Yikes! At first they sleep a lot, but they grow out of that phase pretty quickly. Then, for the next two years, you can't take your eyes off them for a second! Then, if you're lucky (as I was), they pretty much mellow out. Cinnamon is happy to sleep pretty much 20 hours a day!
Guess you can't get a doggy door. I can totally see Ian and Benjamin crawling through it!
did you name the puppy Jesus-arella...?
That is one cute dog...I vote you keep it. Dogs can be a friend when the rest of the world is not.
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