Pepper

I know, I know. I always said we would never get a dog. I even made it my personal mission to tell people who were thinking about it how crazy I thought they were. Who would ever want a smelly, pooping, peeing, sniffing, chewing, licking animal in their house that was not their actual child? Not me.

Ryan and I had been "discussing" the possibility of getting a dog for a few weeks. We thought if we did it, Christmas would be the most magical time. I had always used the excuse with the kids that we would never get a dog while we still had a baby in diapers. I couldn't use that excuse anymore. And Ryan has now worked in the pet industry for over 5 years without being a dog owner and I have to admit I was feeling a little guilty about it. I researched breeds and talked to a lot of people and then decided one day to head down to the animal shelter with Claire to "check it out". I figured I could talk to the folks there and tell them what we were kind of looking for and look into a bit. We didn't want to get one until around Christmas time if we were going to get one anyway. I still wasn't completely sold on the idea myself. I did not expect what happened next.

As soon as we pulled up, a lady walked out the door with the scruffiest, cutest little dog. I assumed she had just adopted it and so I asked her what kind of dog it was. Turns out, she was just taking the dog out for a walk and she proceeded to tell me what a sweet dog it was. I guess the boss had picked her up the previous weekend out in the country and taken her home with him. When he saw what a sweet, well-trained dog she was, he fell in love with her. But like all the employees at the animal shelter, he already had several dogs. He decided to just keep her in the front office with him and the other employees until she was adopted. They hadn't posted her profile online and, honestly, I don't think he was in a real hurry for her to be adopted. Once I spent a little time with her and I saw how gentle she was with Claire, it was all over. She melted my heart. I texted Ryan this picture...

I hadn't even told him I was going to the shelter. I knew I had to go home and talk to Ryan about it and not make a rash decision. But all I could do the next 2 days was worry about someone adopting her before we had the chance. She was just what we were looking for. We knew we wanted a smaller dog but not a tiny, yippy dog. She was the perfect size--her back came up to Claire's waist. We didn't want a puppy. She was three years old and already house trained. And we both wanted one that looked a little scruffy and she definitely did. Ryan and I agreed he would go down Saturday morning and probably bring her home. I couldn't help myself. I had to go down Friday afternoon to check on her and see what Luke thought of her. Crazy, right? I know. Here's what she looked like then...

Saturday morning while I had some church meetings, Ryan went and picked her up. He said she was a lot scruffier than he had imagined and what the pictures showed. He knew we had to get her because he was afraid no one else would want her. He took her to the groomers to get a good scrub-down and hair cut before bringing her home for good. We've now had her for a week and we still think she's the perfect dog. She's pretty mellow. She likes to be where we are in the house and is happy to just sit on her pillow or on our lap if we let her. She loves going on walks and playing fetch with a little squeaky tennis ball. I NEVER thought I would be one of those dog owners who I thought was so annoying but I've learned my lesson to never say never.

The kids all love her...

(FYI, we have since outlawed her sleeping anywhere but on her bed at night but I thought this was sweet)