We Got a Puppy!

Yes that’s right – we got a puppy! I feel like I’ve been keeping a secret from all of you for far too long. I’ve shared briefly on Instagram, and was reminded after I shared about the pumpkin fiasco I haven’t properly introduced you to the newest addition to our family! And don’t worry I will tell you all about the pumpkin fiasco too! I’m also sharing who the winner is for the $150 gift card to Balsam Hill is too!

I feel like this story began so long ago that it needs a grand beginning like “A long long time ago…”, insert my 8 yr old son rolling his eyes at my cheesy Star Wars impression, but it’s true, this story began long before we brought her home. Since the time my husband and I were married he has wanted a dog. Honestly I think it was much more prior to that as well, he grew up with pets, me not so much. I was never afraid of them, just didn’t long for them. I say that because I fully believe that some people are “animal people”. And by that I mean embedded deep within them is this longing to nurture and take care of animals. We call my husband the “pet-whisperer” because no matter what job site he’s on, if there are animals they are by his side. And in return he has a special place in his heart for pets. I didn’t really think there was much weight to it, until my daughter (our second born), started showing the same draw towards animals that her father has, and she had yet to have any pets of her own. She wanted a pet so bad that when she was 4, she stole the neighbor boys pet fish right out of it’s tank, and walked home with it clasped between her hands, until she got to her room and made a home for it in her jewelry box. Yeah, that did not end well for the fish! It’s such a funny story, at the time not so much, but one we laugh about now to no end!

Shortly after we were married that talk of wanting/having a dog someday came about, and we decided that it wasn’t smart to get one while we were renting, in case we ever needed to move it was much harder to find a place that allowed pets, never mind dogs. Then the babies came, and after watching Marley & Me while I was “very” pregnant with our first, I told my husband no dogs until the kids are no longer napping, because the thought of a barking do waking a sleeping baby made me want to vomit! LOL. So the babies came, we bought a house, I started my business, our plates were full. It would come up in conversation from time to time, and I would always mention it would be nice if the kids were just old enough to help out with the responsibility of having a dog. My poor husband never pushing, just always longing, and remember it’s not that I don’t like pets, I just don’t have that inner desire that longs for one.

It’s hard to grasp the full story without sharing a dark moment of it that happened 2 years ago. It was right around thanksgiving, and my husband had casually mentioned the “someday when we have a dog”, and I felt a shift in my spirit. I looked at him, stopped him mid-sentance and said “why not today?”. We keep saying someday, they kids are no longer napping (lol), so why not make someday today. He looked at me with beaming with excitement, and began searching puppy sites immediately. I will say this too, my husband is a hands on type of worker. He uses his computer when he has too, but is typically out on the field working away. He had found a website of a breeder and started showing me different puppies. When he narrowed his sites on the one he loved, he e-mailed asking about the dog. It wasn’t until the breeder responded that he realized they weren’t local. We went back and forth, but had heard of others who had bought dogs online, and they fly them to you. He grew up with a mom who bread dogs, so nothing on this site seemed alarming. We continued talking with the person, and made arrangements to have the puppy sent to us. We were going to surprise the kids for Christmas. We started to get excited, bought some puppy necessities, and waited the arrival of my husbands long time wish. We sent them our deposit, which again was nothing we hadn’t heard of others doing before, especially in a day and age when you can buy just about anything online, and wait for the confirmation of her arrival time. She never came. The “breeder” that was so easy to reach before, became unreachable. And we soon found out it was all a scam. We lost our money, had no dog to show for it, but more worse than that we felt sucker-punched. It was awful. Thankfully we never told the kids, so we went about our lives, feeling a bit stung from our experience.

We didn’t talk about it again until about 2 months ago, we were sitting outside, enjoying a summer evening, and my husband said it out loud “I really want a dog”. Because it wasn’t a huge desire for me I never pushed it. But I’ve realized in our 12 years of marriage that sometimes you do things for your family, even if you don’t desire them that much, you bend because of the ones you love, just to see them happy.

Trust me, just the thought of a puppy in our house made me a little squeamish. What would it chew on, where would all of it’s things go? Don’t get me started on the accidents. But I knew that those things were just that – stuff. And even though I could of protested (and probably pushed it off longer), it’s not all about me. In marriage it’s about each other. And my husband sure does an awful lot to make sure I get what I want, so I wanted to do the same for him. I smiled back at him and said “the right one is out there”, and inside I prayed that if we were meant to get a puppy that God would open the doors. My husband had met a dog at a customers house that day at work (remember – the pet whisperer), and fell in love with it so much to the point I encouraged him to contact the owner and ask where they found it. Well he didn’t have to do that, because the very next day my hair dresser shared a post on Facebook, her friends dog had puppies, and she had 3 left that were available. And one of them just happened to be exactly the one my husband described to me the night before.  I contacted her immediately and we set up a time to come and see the puppy. My husband was totally hesitant. Partly I think because he wanted this for so long, and what are the odds that the exact kind of dog he described, we found. I told him that God gave him exactly the dog he asked for, why should he be surprised, ha ha. But secondly I think he was still feeling a bit stung by what happened to us before. He tried to act all tough guy on the way there, clearly stating his guard was up, but the moment he held her and she started licking his chin, it was all over.

We brought her home the last weekend in August, and yes we surprised the kids. They had no idea, and it was so sweet! Her name is Fenway, after Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Red Sox my husbands favorite baseball team.

She is a love! She loves to cuddle, and loves to play, and yes she is allowed on the furniture, and she has pooped in my dining room more times than I’d like to admit. But we are keeping it all in retrospect. She is a puppy, life happens, and more importantly my husband – and now our two kids, are more than happy.

Oh and the pumpkin fiasco. Yeah, I had this cute little vignette set up on our coffee table. She hadn’t attempted to attack anything that wasn’t her toy, until that fatal day she knocked both off the coffee table and began chewing like it was nobody’s business.

RIP sweet blue pumpkin and my antique book too. But I know that they are just things, that’s all it is – is stuff. And none of it is more important than the people, or puppy, living in our home 🙂

And now – the winner of the $150 Balsam Hill gift card is …… JULIE WELLS!! Thank you so much to everyone that entered. And just so you all know from now until October 31st you can get 20% off on any indoor and outdoor pillar candles, with the code BHPLCNDL. I got some for our patio, they seriously are amazing, I’m grabbing some more because I can totally see filling the house with them at Christmas, and the hubby doesn’t have to worry about my forgetting to blow them out, lol! Congrats again to Julie, be sure to check your e-mail, and thanks again to all who entered!!

Stay in touch!

Instagram / Pinterest / Facebook

SaveSave

SaveSave

SaveSave