Neither my husband nor myself ever thought of ourselves as dog people. I mean, I like them okay, but with four kids and two cats I couldn't imagine taking on another living thing that needed attention. And they need lots of attention. I just couldn't imagine it. We have our two kitties, and they are LOW maintenance-which I felt was my kind of pet. But this week, we got a six week old chocolate lab puppy-Katy. My hubby and I had been kicking the idea around for a few weeks-the kids are getting older and easier-they love animals so much, dogs are so good for children-he works from home, I only work part-time-we have the time and energy now.....maybe we could do this. The conversations started out hypothetically (and definitely not in front of the kids!) "what kind of dog would we get IF we were to get one" (a lab) "male or female?" (female), "puppy or adult?" (puppy). The kids had NO idea we were considering such a thing. And we weren't sure that we were. Then one afternoon last week, I stumbled on the right puppy, the right situation, and without so much as a collar, bed, single toy, or even a food dish, we found ourselves driving to Youngsville "just to look", while the kids were in school. When I saw Katy, it was love at first sight-I melted and we scooped her up and drove home. We sat out in the front yard and played with her until the kids got home from school. They were astounded.... "No really, mommy, whose puppy is this?" and thrilled beyond belief.

Word spread in the neighborhood. A girlfriend showed up with a crate and explained the process. The nice lady we got the puppy from had sent a small bag of food with her. The kids scrounged up some old toys for chewies. The next day we ventured out to PetSmart for more supplies. Cute, girlie dog things. I don't know what we have done. But all I do know, is we love this little puppy to pieces, she is doing AMAZING with her housetraining/crate training, my kids are in heaven, and we've been having some wonderful family time the past few days. After having cats for so long, we are delighting in so many of the little joys of a puppy. She actually comes when you call her! She wants to please! The warmth of her little body snuggling next to you is absolutely intoxicating! Half the neighborhood kids have wandered over to meet her (my husband jokes about her moving through photoshoots, to meet and greets, to wardrobe.......) I can't believe how seamlessly and quickly she has moved into being part of our family. My husband has never cared much for our cats, and I always assumed he wasn't much of an animal person. But seeing him with the puppy, I realize that's not the case....maybe we're dog people after all!!