A Late Christmas Present

All through the month of December I was toying with an idea for a special Christmas present for the boys.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to go through with it but it was starting to feel like it was the right time.

I decided it was time to get a dog.

I say that "I" decided because it was really me that was holding us back.  I've never really wanted one.  I'm not really a dog person.  If I wasn't allergic, I would have gotten a cat years ago.  Since that wasn't an option, I was pretty sure that we'd just never have a pet.  One of my biggest reasons was that I would be the one taking care of it during the day while everyone was gone.  That changed now that Nathaniel and Jonathan are both home during the day.  I realized my major excuse was moot(or "moo" - as Joey would say).  Also, I knew several people and their dogs who seemed happy with each other.  One of my neighbors in particular felt exactly like I did before she got her dog and now she can't imagine life without her dog.  So, I was gradually warming up to the idea.  It had to be a small dog though.

On Christmas Eve we looked at the Humane Society's website at their dog profiles and wrote down a couple of names that looked like they might be a good fit for us but when we went to actually look, many of them were gone with foster families for the holidays.  So, we decided to try again after Christmas.  The day after Christmas we looked online again and so many of the dogs were different, we figured that maybe they had a high turnover rate, which was good.  We browsed through and looked at several and then we saw a cute little papillon mix with floppy ears and decided that she was the one.  We called to see where she was and told them we were on our way.  Turns out she was at PetSmart with a few other animals in hopes that they would be adopted.  I'm really glad we called because apparently we weren't the only ones who thought she was super cute.  Three other families had asked about her but were told that she was on hold.  We held her for a little while to see if we liked her.  One guy kind of followed us to make sure we were serious about adopting her.  I guess it kind of pushed us into making a decision.  Even after all this, I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to go through with it.  In the end, I decided that we would and after signing a bunch of papers and buying a bunch of supplies we took her home.

 The boys were super excited.

 She was a little nervous.

 We didn't see her tail for a few days, she was so nervous.

But look at that face!  Cutest little dog ever!

 She hid behind the recliner for most of that first day.  By the next day she warmed up a little bit more.

 She still seemed so nervous and kind of sad but after a while she decided she liked us.

 We decided to call her Suki.  Named after a character from Avatar: Last Airbender series.  I think it fits her.  Also, since she's a girl, I made sure to get her girly things.  It was about time we had another girl in the family.  I got her a pink collar and leash and a pink food dish.

It's been a lot of fun to see how the boys play with her.  I don't know that I will ever be a Dog Person but she's pretty darn cute and I definitely believe it was the right move for our family.  We needed her.