Okay, so anyways, garage sale was a bust and as the day was winding down my husband decided to run to Walmart with Addyson and a good friend to get a few things. Not long after he got there I got a call from him. Actually, no that's not what happened first. I started getting picture text messages from both my husband and his friend of them holding a small puppy. Then another one of the puppy in Addyson's lap. I rolled my eyes, gave him a call and told him to not forget the cat litter and basically disregarded the photos. Well they kept coming. haha. Okay, for a bit of back story. I am a dog lover and grew up with dogs but I have not been ready to own a dog myself. My husband has wanted a dog for quite sometime. My opinion was that this would just be another baby that I would be taking care of. I think people either start with having a baby or start with having a dog and for us it was the babies. So.. back to Saturday... then I decided to ask my husband a few questions about the puppy in the picture... she was a australian shepherd mix... 9 weeks old... last of the litter... FREE... had her shots... the most mellow so the last to be taken... etc. I decided to talk to my mom.
My mom is a pet sitter on the side. She is amazing with animals of all kinds and knows so much about training dogs and different breeds she should be Cesar Millan's sidekick. So, I got on the phone with her and she told me it was a good age actually because I would have the chance to raise a wonderful family dog from the beginning... that was if I was ready. She encouraged me to get the phone number of the seller and think it over. I agreed. The next phone call I made was to my husband and as he picked up the phone I distinctly remember his words were, "Do I have a green light?" My response back was for him to get the lady's number so that we could call if we had questions, etc. He jumped off the phone rather quickly and I didn't think twice about it. Fast forward to the Honda Pilot pulling into the driveway and I see the puppy curled up in our good friends' lap in the passenger seat... WHAT?!?!?
I really wish someone could have got my face on camera because I think it was as if I saw the latest horror film. The funniest thing was that then my husband saw my reaction and his face mimicked mine! Let's just say we had a slight puppy miscommunication! LOL. My husband honestly believed that I was giving him the "green light" and told me that he got the lady's number like I asked in case we needed to ask questions. I could see in his face it was an honest mistake. And as one friend of mine put it, a very cute mistake. They handed me the puppy in an attempt to change the look of horror on my face and she curled up under my chin and rested her cute muzzle on my shoulder. I must admit, as much as I wanted to say take her back, I just couldn't.
I put a lot of thought to the whole situation that day and decided that I was going to take this pup on. For me getting a dog was for some people like having a baby. Let me explain.. I know some of you know people or maybe you are one of them that feels like certain things have to be in order before entering a new phase. For some people it will NEVER be the perfect time to have a baby. I honestly think that the same would have gone for me with getting a dog. I'm fairly certain that I would have been able to make a very legitimate excuse for not getting a dog for probably the next 5-10 years. But, that wasn't the plan for this family. This "accident" happened, as many "accidents" do with families and I now couldn't be happier. The joy this little puppy brings my kids is priceless. It will be an event they will never forget and as they are growing up they will be able to learn responsibility as they will help care for her.
And I know what you are all thinking... sure...let's see how positive she is as she's trying to housebreak this puppy... and I'll be honest the first day was an utter nightmare. But I think I have a much better outlook now that I have mentally switched over from shock to "let's do this!" And I already promised my husband that I wouldn't be blaming him when things got hard. LOL. We are now in this together.
I'm halfway through Cesar Millan's book How To Raise The Perfect Dog and I'm learning so much. I think that although I didn't feel it was a great time for a family addition, the Lord did. Don't they say if you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans? Now I'm the one laughing. It's actually not a bad time at all now that I think more about it. My youngest is now 14 months and rapidly exiting the "baby" stage and there are no babies on the way. So before we decide that we might want to think about another human baby, I think it's the perfect time to train up a furry one.
So here she is, our newest family member... Penny. ♥
