All I Want For Christmas...

We've been thinking about getting a dog for quite some time now. After election season was over, I took a look around our house and decided if we were ever going to get a dog, we were going to have to make some changes.

First of all, my husband and I are "collectors" of stuff. I believe it is a genetic disorder and unfortunately our poor children have probably gotten a double dose of it... In the last year, I've begun looking at our "collections" in a whole new light. The thought most often creeping into my mind when taking a look around our home was, "My word! Get a hold of yourself. You don't need half this *&@%!" As a result, I have been going through our house room by room during the past six weeks and have gotten rid of so much stuff! It has felt liberating and for the first time in awhile there is actually room in our house for the people who live there and in my opinion, a new addition to our family...

Secondly, we were going to have to stop being such procrastinators about projects that need done around the house, from rooms that need repaired and/or painted to seasonal chores. I know what you're thinking, "Wow! Junk collectors and procrastinators! What could be worse?!" Well, we may be old, but not so set in our ways that we couldn't do something about changing them. So the house is getting cleaned out and some long neglected projects are sprouting wings. Gee, I've even started feeling like a responsible adult lately.

So me and my new found responsible self started looking online at some of the dogs available at the different shelters in our area. On Sunday, I found this handsome chap you see pictured above with the red scarf. My hubby refers to him as the Randy Travis of dogs and expected him to say, "Well, hi there little lady" when we went to meet him at the shelter yesterday. This sweetie pie is a Treeing Walker Coon Hound named Tank and my husband and I both really fell in love with his quiet gentleness right away, but the kids were not so enamored with him and Tank didn't seem too interested in them either. Tank is also a good size dog, really larger than we had been planning for, but man is he a sweetie... After much deliberation and visiting with Tank for awhile, we tore ourselves away and asked to see a couple other dogs we'd spied online.

The next dog was named Azrael and is a Beagle/Terrier mix. Holy cow! I've never seen anything so high strung in my life! This little dog was definitely not our type. We're a pretty mellow bunch and this dog had more energy than all four of us put together times ten! He frightened the beeswax out of C. because he was, I swear moving faster than the speed of light. So early into our visit at the shelter we had already struck out twice!

Next, we were shown the little Basset Hound you see pictured below named Sis. I am a HUGE fan of Basset Hounds, but was a little reluctant about Sis because we had seen online that Sis is only 8 months old. We had really planned to adopt an adult dog, but when Sis came into the room she stole my heart immediately and it was all I could do not to scoop her up and run out and load her up in our car! Scott and L. also fell in love with her. We were also impressed with how well she started listening to us right away! C. however was still freaked about by the brief "visit" with Azrael and began insisting that he no longer wanted a dog and just wanted to leave. Scott and I knew he was just freaked out and would get upset half way back to Fort Wayne about saying he didn't want a dog because he really did want a dog, so we asked the guy who was showing us the different dogs if we could just hang out for awhile so C. could calm down and give Sis a chance.
The guy said that would be no problem and finally after much encouragement, C. went over to the squeaky toys with me, picked one out and threw it across the room. Sis ran over, chopped down on the toy and came scrambling back over to C. while wagging her little tail and doing her best to be just as cute as possible. I swear Sis knew exactly what was going on and was doing her best to win us over. Well, her little "show" was successful and after a few more toys tossed about the room for Sis to fetch, C. was laughing and grinning and exclaiming how much he loves Sis and had changed his mind and really did want a dog! So that was that! I went to the front counter to fill out an application for adoption while Scott and the kids said temporary goodbyes to Sis. We now have to wait a few days for the phone call to find out if we're approved or not. Man, I hope so! I can't think why we wouldn't be.

And on the way home, C. told us all about how he and Sissy ( I believe Sis has a new name) is his best friend and he knows that when L. doesn't want to play with him, Sissy will. We were all pretty excited last night and still are today. It's going to be tough waiting all week, but is probably a good thing so we can go do some shopping for Sissy. You know, Sissy will be needing food and treats and bowls and a few toys, a leash and probably a crate. Whew! L. finally understood last night why we've been telling her these last few years that owning a dog is a big responsibility.

In order to be able to afford Sissy this year, Scott and I have agreed not to spend any money on each other for Christmas and the money we usually spend for a family gift or a little post Christmas weekend vacation will be used to adopt Sissy. Things are tighter this year than ever before and some may think we're crazy to take on the added expense of a dog, but now more than ever with these economically trying times for everyone, I assume the animal shelters will have more animals than normal. In fact, we were told that Sissy's owners turned her into the shelter because they are going through some tough times and don't have the time or the money right now to take care of Sissy. We can't wait to bring Sissy home! Our family will and Sissy will always have Tank to thank for bringing us together. I really really wish I could think of someone to adopt Tank. Like I said he's a big sweetie pie. I hope he finds a good home soon. If you know of anyone, please let me know. I hope we're able to bring Sissy home next week before Christmas! Besides a wonderful time spent with my family, she is all I really want for Christmas and since we got home last night guess what I've been humming?