oh, we have a dog.

Major summer event that I almost forgot to mention!

The kids have been asking for a dog for years.   In 1997 Dan and I adopted a dog from Golden Retriever Rescue named Buddy.  Actually his name was Josh,  and we quickly renamed him.   He was our first baby so to speak.    We bought him treats,  took him on play dates and spent a lot of time training him to be obedient.    He was a great dog.  He was big and shed so much but we looked past that.   When he died in 2003 it was very sad.  I'll never forget Dan's voice cracking through the tears on the other side of the phone.  

Introducing Buddy to our baby Chase

Fast forward 13 years later.  We had been promising Chase that when he turned 10,  we would acquire another family dog.   Circumstances are so different than in 1997.   Now we have 4 kids.  At the time Chase turned 10,  I was pregnant.   I didn't relish the thought of potty training a dog and a 2 year old when I was 8 months pregnant.   And my tolerance for dog hair and large dog had declined significantly since our home began to fill with children and the certain messes they do make.   What to do?   Chase's last plea for a pet included the unconfirmed claim that "EVERYONE in my class has a dog except me!"

Life changed,  plans changed and through a bunch of circumstances that worked out really nicely,   we now have Zoe.    A  5 year old Maltese/Shih tzu mix.   She is small,  doesn't shed and can be quite defiant ( you tell her to come here... she looks at you and runs the other way!)   But she is lazy and is potty trained so most of the time that makes up for her disobedience.