this. is.

(...happening!)

this is a dog bowl. 

in our kitchen. 

why is it there? because he bought it. 

why did he buy it? 

well, for our new dog, of course. 

that's right, our family of two is now expanding to a family of three. we're doubling in size- from four to eight feet. 

"wait a minute," you say, "didn't you just give up your last two dogs in the last year?" 

yes, friends. yes i did. more on this below. but first, an ode to my excitement for a new furry friend:

today is the day that our little bluetick coonhound pup is getting picked up from the breeder in alabama, and 'shipped' (nicely transported in a kennel in the back of an suv) to our door. the trip will take 48-72 hours, and the driver will text us updates as he travels. the pup could arrive anytime on saturday or sunday. we are VERY excited for this new little (yet to be named) friend to be a part of our family! 

i'm a dog lover, it's true. i just love their little faces, their tails, their little innocent furry bodies that have no idea what they are doing, and their adorable hearts and attitudes of sheer love and loyalty. it's hard not to love a creature that is so enthusiastic about life, especially when they don't know what's going on. i just love them. 

that's why i had two. and last june, that's why my heart broke to give up my little myla: her adorable, innocent face having no idea what was in store for her as i left her at the humane society. i can only hope that someone else found that face as heartmelting as i did (how could they not, seriously?) and took her home and loved on her. 

and that is why, in april of this year, i gave my favorite dog of all time to my mom and stepdad to take under their wing. see, my husband (to-be, at the time) is allergic to dogs. especially, and mostly, to miss jola. for some reason, her shed-tastic, furry coat made my husband miserable. and his allergies are not just the runny-nose-watery-eyes-get-a-shot-you're-ok kind. dogs make him itch. itch itch itch uncontrollably- through the day, through the night, leaving him with no sleep, bleeding skin and the ever-present nuisance of being itchy at all times. it was sheer misery to see the two things i loved the most try to co-exist. and while i love my jola, i knew it had to happen, and the choice was an easy one- because her vacation home in parker was ready and willing (thank you thank you thank you) to become her forever home. 

she is still there, and now that i work in parker, i can see her whenever i want. i love to get a good dose of that ol' catdog and her silly ways at least once a week. i miss her, and my heart is never more full than when i see her literally jump out of excitement to see me. she will always be my girl, and i think i will always be hers. 

but the reality is, that's only my journey with dogs. he has his own, and we are both lovers of those little furry freaks. and he wants one so desperately, so badly- one to romp in the snow at wash park, one to take hiking, one to howl at the squirrels and to wrestle with on the floor- that i can't say no, i can't deny him the satisfaction of loving a dog from puppyhood into adulthood, from taking care of something and training it just as your very own, from having that unconditional, slobbery dog love that is heartmelting on even the worst of days. of course i want him to have his dog.

so, in true he and i fashion, we impulsively decided last weekend to look at dogs at the shelters. 'just to get it out of our system', we said. truthfully, i was, and still am, a bit hesitant about what having a dog entails: the responsibility of coming home on time, checking in, training schedules, walks, out of town logistics, etc. i originally was pushing to wait for doggy-hood until we had our first baby, so we could loose our freedom in one fell swoop. 

however, i'm a sucker for puppy eyes and floppy ears and awkward legs and basic round, little, squishy puppy-ness. so when he showed me the dog he wanted in puppy form, i said yes, with a full and excited heart. of course i still have my hesitations- partly based on the amount of work that goes into housebreaking and obedience training a new dog, and the responsibilities (oh the responsibilities!) that they take; but mostly because i feel like i am cheating on my first love, my black furry girl jola-pants. i know i'm not really, and i know that living with her is a sheer impossibility if i want to keep my husband around. so i'll get over it, i know i will, but still: i feel like i need to publicly declare my steadfast dedication to my jola, and shout from the rooftops that she will always have my heart, forever and always. but i'm sure she knows this, cause i tell her at least once a week.

and so here we go, embarking on our first, and hopefully not only, joint venture in raising a living creature- as he called it, 'baby lite'. we have just a few more days of freedom- lazy mornings, uninterrupted sleep, and an accident-and-chew-free house. 

i will miss these days, but seriously, how can you say no to this guy?! 

this is our actual (unnamed) puppy due to arrive in just a few days... name suggestions welcome!