Monday Madness- It's ALL Tabitha's Fault

I've been promising that I would tell the story of how Lola came to be with the B Family. The time has come.

We had been having a conversation concerning dog ownership for quite some time. I've never owned an indoor pet. Not a huge fan. Didn't have an indoor dog until I was married and that is only because he was my husband's dog. (The story of my house and dog sitting while we were dating.... I will definitely have to revisit that one...). What can I say? I'm just not a fan of indoor pets. Even our fish, Romeo and Juliet, tend to annoy me. I enjoy my space. I've always said that if I needed another living thing to care for, I would have another baby, and I can state with absolute certainty, THAT. IS. NOT. GOING. TO. HAPPEN.

My son, however, loooooooovvves dogs. For the last ten years, I have been kindly prying him off every single dog that has ever crossed his path. Our neighbors had a dog named Brittany. He played with that dog so much, that when she unexpectedly passed, they were distraught over how they would break the news to my son. He was pretty sad. Not just for a moment, but for days. Then, about 8 weeks later, Tabitha (my neighbor) decided they needed to get a new dog. Meanwhile, I had been looking at dogs on the web, and had decided I wanted a medium sized dog, that did not shed, that was short-haired and most importantly, obedient and NOT YAPPY. So, Tabitha gets on the web and finds a puppy that she falls in love with and brings her home. Her children raced over to share the good news. I don't believe I saw my own Z-kids for the next week with the exception of mealtime. On Wednesday I called her and said,"Fine. I get it. My kids need a dog." I had been watching my son carry that puppy everywhere he went. If her own children were ever going to get any time with their puppy, I was going to need to intervene.

Tabitha laughed at my statement and said,"You know, there are more in the litter." "I know," I replied, " But I'm not sure about it. Oh, what the heck. Give me the woman's number and I'll call and JUST check it out."

Fast forward to Friday. I had been trading messages with the woman who had the puppies. Tabitha decided to bring her puppy over for a visit. (She knew EXACTLY what she was doing.) Once I took that puppy in my arms and she licked my face, and breathed her sweet, stinky puppy breath in my face, I was in puppy love. (Yes, I'm a sucker!)

I am now the owner of a dog that will grow to be about 100 pounds, as well as be a long-haired shedding machine. She still has accidents, and I've spent more money in the last few weeks just getting her settled and we haven't even hit the vet yet!

But the kids are over the moon about her. They laugh and giggle and play. They actually feed her, walk her and take responsibility for her. Had I known they would react this way, I would have done it sooner. (Maybe. I dunno). It's work, but seeing the smiles on my Little Zs faces, I don't regret it. Yet. :)

Yours, getting ready to take my Z3 on a walk,

Melissa