We Finally Have A Girl

Meet Lulu Belle!

I can hardly believe it.  We have a dog.  We have a 5 month old Puggle (a mix of a Pug and Beagle). The boys are head over heels for her and totally smitten.
Not ever being an animal person, ever, I'm stunned at how we got here.  Unfortunately, I have only myself to blame.  I voiced a recurring thought I had been having, a tentative one, one that I had been occasionally stewing on over the past year or so.  What if we got a dog?  Someone to keep me company during the day, a compadre, something to love on when I'm feeling lonely.  And it really does get lonely at times with all the boys in school now.That's all it took.  One little sentence.  A weakening of such strong resolve, and the boys pounced.  We later learned that once these words were spoken, the boys held, "Confidential Kids Meetings" where they laid out a master plan on how to make their dream become a reality.  Apparently they reached the conclusion that if Mom caved in, then Dad was a shoe-in.  I was the lynch pin, and it was me they would work over.  This would explain the "Have you snuggled a puggle" signs that would mysteriously appear in my room.  Or the remarks I would hear under their breaths like, "we've set the hook, now we just have to real her in."  Stinkers.


They suddenly wanted to watch dog movies.  The opening line of, "Where the Red Fern Grows" only added fuel to the fire:

It's not easy for a young boy to want a dog and not be able to have one. It starts gnawing on his heart, and gets all mixed up in his dreams. It gets worse and worse, until finally it becomes almost unbearable." 

See, Mom? 

I began doing research, lots of it.  I really wanted to find a smallish dog that didn't yap, didn't stink, didn't poop or pee, was easily trainable, never got sick, and didn't shed.  I really couldn't find anything that fit the bill.  We eventually did narrow it down and decided on a Puggle.  I also insisted that if we were going to get a dog, that it must be a girl.  Period.  No negotiating. Okay, Mom.  Okay.  Sam and I said that we would pay for the dog if the boys would buy the supplies. Done.  This part really was awesome. Those boys worked hard and together with a common goal and purpose. I had little indentured servants at my disposal.  They worked hard on a project in the yard we have been wanting to get done for quite sometime.  I really was proud at how hard they worked and the attitudes in which they did it.  Anything for a dog.  Amazing.

So here we are now with a dog.  We've joined the ranks of dog owners.  Like I said, the boys are beyond excited.  Shoot, I even got a kiss on the cheek from Seth when we went to pick Lulu Belle up.  We're figuring out how to take care of her and how to train her.  I'm trying really hard to be the Alpha in the relationship and make it look and feel like I'm in command and know what I'm doing.  The truth is the first day we had her, I mostly just sat and stared at her wondering what I had gotten myself into.  I'll admit though, she is cute, for a dog, and she's growing on me for sure.  I'm surprised at how quickly she's worming her way into our lives.  Who would have thought?