Who let the dogs out??

"Faith"

Well, it's a surprise but we are now officially a "dog" family. Yes, I'm shocked too. Last Friday we became the new owners of a little girl dog part "Cocker" and part "The Dog Next Door." I could make a list about a mile long of why "I" DIDN'T want to get a dog right now, while the rest of the family could have written a list just as long as to why they want one. The short of the long story is that besides that fact that Daria has wanted a dog for many years and can often be found walking neighbors dogs or tending them, or the fact that she has a gift with all animals, but she really needed a dog. Being a almost 12 year old girl trying to stay on the right path during that ever so difficult self esteem growth stage can be tough these days. I'd rather her have a dog to fill some needs as opposed to the risk of leaning towards difficult teenage social norms. I woke up last Monday and realized that regardless of my apprehension, we needed to get a dog for Daria. I believe dogs can be healers as they love you no matter what. Regardless if you don't have a cell phone and it seems like everyone else does, or whether you wear name brand clothes or not, regardless of your grades or the cliques, being popular or different. The dog will still love you. With the hectic nature of life, maybe we all need a dog in this house! Ha! You may think getting a dog for a pre-teen is crazy, but Daria is an animal lover and prides herself on being super responsible (as long as it's an animal, plants do not count in this category).

The decision was pretty easy. My friend Megan got a cute dog. His name is Harry. Harry is soft, Harry is cute, and Harry is a super pleasant calm 5 month old puppy. Can't beat that. Harry had quite a few siblings who happened to be available. Never in her wildest dreams would Daria ever think we would let her get a dog. So she was highly shocked when we told her to pick one out. The fun didn't end there when Daria's dear friend Alise ended up getting one of the brothers. Three friends, three puppies.

So here is our new dog. Daria wanted the family to come up with names and then we would vote on it. I made a list of about 20 names but by the time I was done Daria had already named her "Faith". Well, after all, it is her dog.

I had to put this shot up. Faith has one black leg and one white leg. Dog friend down the street Elizabeth said it looks like a fashion statement.

For those of you who know Daria you will understand this picture. While most parents try to get their kids to clean their rooms, I'm on the other end trying to get Daria NOT to clean all the time. Once she got Faith she didn't make her bed for two days. Success! It was a picture moment.

So now I'm adjusting to life with a dog. Just for the record, she is cute. She is soft, she is very well behaved and she won't get much bigger. It feels like having a new baby at home because you have to keep an eye on a puppy all the time. I've got issues with four legged friends chewing on my house or not using the bathroom. So far so good but it's a lot of work. I'm not a fan of a "dog smelling" house, so there will be pet free rooms in our home including mine and the guest bedroom. Sorry, but I need a pet free zone. Doggie freshner, check. She really is calm, sits really well and is quiet, all but the other night when she howled, but it hasn't happened since. She loves the bean bag. So I put the bean bag up by my desk while I worked. She fell asleep and snored. Yes, the puppy snores. She laid on her tummy and snored. She slept on her back and snored, she slept on her side and snored. The snoring reminded me of Ken. So I called Ken to tell him he had something in common with the pup. and there it is, a day in the life of us.