A Moment of Weakness

You know those moments when you think something sounds like the best idea ever? Then a while later you ask yourself: What was I thinking??? I'm living it now...

My whole family has been hounding me lately for a pet. Not  gold fish, a bird or any other caged animal. A "real" pet. My son wanted a kitten--but my husband doesn't like litter boxes because then the poop is in your house. Everyone agreed they wanted a dog or a puppy.

"A puppy?!" I thought to myself. "Are you nuts? I'm still recovering from baby sleep deprivation!" They are all crazy. I ignored them for a long time.

I countered with the ever popular winning arguments: they are expensive, they shed, they are a lot of work, they poop all over the yard.  Nothing worked. Maybe because secretly, I wanted one too. It seemed reasonable. We started to really think about getting a pet.

Everyone at least agreed not to put mom through Puppyhood right now. I'm too tired and too busy. I thought that was great because it would limit our choices. I mean really, how would we ever find a dog that was right for us that wasn't a puppy?



Looking at the Cochrane Humane Society web page yielded this adorable face.

I should mention that I find it physically impossible to go into a shelter and come out empty handed. I thought my husband understood that about me...apparently in 11 years of marriage that hadn't come up.

We called to make sure he wasn't adopted. Of course, he wasn't. We went to see this mush ball of fur and doesn't he come straight to the kids and lay at their feet. Hmmmm...OK so he's cute and furry. But he's big--about 50 pounds of dog. Neither of my children weigh 50 pounds yet. We play with him. We walk him. No pulling and no barking--he has some manners. He can sit and shake a paw. He's very charming.

Two hours later paper work is filled out and we go to leave without him (they have a rule that doesn't allow same day adoptions). Despite the valiant effort of a good friend to dissuade me. Both kids are sad to leave him behind and my son cries on my shoulder. My daughter says "He's the missing piece of our family, Mom." Well, who can argue with that?

My moment of weakness is named Nakoda.

He is home with us now. And I will spend my work time cleaning up dog poop and putting my flower beds back together.

What was I thinking?!