We Considered Calling Him Moose

I haven't written in several days. Our house has been a little topsy-turvy.

WE HAVE A PUPPY!!! After years of discussion, prayer, discerning, querying, and researching, we finally took the plunge.

When Don and I were first married, we both wanted a dog but, because of my cat, we decided it would be best to wait until we no l0nger had Frolic. When he died 2 years ago, we again discussed a dog, but felt that it was best to wait until Daelyn was a little older. In October of 2003, Don and I made an agreement that we would get a dog in 2 years. When October of 2005 rolled around, he had miraculously forgotten about the whole conversation. But I hadn't.

A couple of months ago, I started researching dogs on the Internet. We wanted that perfect breed to fit in with our family. I narrowed my search down to 3 based on the introduction of allergens to the home, the size, the temperament, their ability to get along with children, and several other factors. My first choice was a Havanese, whose fur is hypoallergenic - the perfect dog for Dane with his allergies. However, they're a VERY small dog and they do shed, so I'd have to constantly be vacuuming up dog hair and there's always the fear with that small a dog of stepping on it and injuring it.

My second choice was a Border Terrier. These dogs are fairly small - they only reach an adult heighth of 16 inches and a maximum of 16 lbs. - and love children. They're sensitive, easy to train, and committed to their owners. They are playful, active dogs even into adulthood. They are bred as fox hunters and are extremely sturdy, despite their small stature, and have powerful jaws. All of that sounded great. Then I read that there are no inherent medical problems with them, they DO NOT shed, and (the clincher) they only eat one cup of dogfood a day. Don read this last item and threw his hat in the ring for a Border Terrier.

I found another web site with pictures and looked these beautiful dogs over. I was amazed. At one location, there was a picture of a female lying down and a male standing behind her, both gazing off into the same distant direction. In my mind's eye, I could see Dane standing with them, and was sold.

Then we began the arduous process of finding one. There aren't too many in the U.S. and most litters are pre-sold, so we came up empty time and again. I eventually made a list of breeders, wrote a letter, copied it to each of them, and got off e-mails explaining our situation. Many of them never responded, but one breeder in Arkansas wrote back that she had a 9-wk. old puppy.

Don and I began praying for the Lord to clearly open doors if this was the dog for us. After several more e-mail notes, the breeder mentioned that her neighbor and friend had a guest visiting from Georgia who would be returning home after the weekend, and he might be willing to bring the puppy.

We were ecstatic. We could actually obtain a puppy and wouldn't have to pay shipping costs!!! It almost seemed too good to be true. The bottom line, however, was that we had to make our final decision and be approved by the breeder as a home for her puppy in two days.

We began furiously making preparations and had numerous conversations, Don and I, the kids and me, Don and the kids ... every possible grouping, as we tried to make a decision. To add even a little more confusion, she had a special-needs puppy who was 5-mos. old but was only 1/6 the price. Deanna and I saw pictures of him and fell in love. Dane, however, decided he really wanted a young puppy.

So, we made our decision and told her we definately wanted the 9-wk. old. It was a very tense 2 days while we prepared for our puppy to make his way to Georgia and planned for me to drive wherever to pick him up. Again, we turned to the Lord. Depending on the time of day and the distance to the pick-up point, there were numerous potential problems. I have 3 children that have to be taken care of. I'm not just free to pick up whenever I want and head out of town for several hours.

Right around midnight on Tuesday, I picked the puppy up off the seat of a very kind man's truck and held him for the first time. I never wanted to put him down again. In Deanna's words, "He's everything we've always wanted in a puppy." My sister held him in her lap the entire 3+ hours home and we discovered he's a snuggler.

Our lives have changed dramatically. Dane says our house will never be the same again. Suddenly, none of us want to go anywhere. We hang out in the kitchen, usually sitting on the floor and cooing like lunatics. We've learned more than any human being ever ought to know about dog treats and are working very hard at potty training (my fourth baby). All of us are getting huge amounts of exercise.

Right now, Donovan, our 5.8 lb. lovebug, is asleep on the loveseat behind me. Deanna's next to him, humming a lullabye. Dane and Daelyn run in from playing with a friend periodically to kiss him or rub his ears. And we all sigh a long sigh of contentment.

There's nothing like a dog to make a house a home.