Introducing, Scrappy Scruffy Doo McCollister!
Yes, we took the plunge.
The timing was probably not right (what with us just moving back from California and trying to assimilate an entire apartment into one place), but when I bond with something, it's hard to walk away.
But we never should have walked IN so soon. Into a pet store on a Sunday afternoon after church.
There was discussion back in California about eventually getting a dog when we moved back. But not RIGHT away. Which is why I was surprised when she wanted us to go into the store after lunch at a restaurant nearby.
We were just going to get "an idea" of what's out there, of course.
After playing with several dogs (all of which were cute), we were on our way out and then another dog caught my eye, and as soon as I went back behind the playing partition --- I was hooked. When a dog looks into your eyes, your very soul, and begins licking your fingers, I totally bonded.
Another quality that got me is that his coloring really resembled my first dog Scooby Doo. And the night before, we had been going through some older boxes and came across a story I wrote for Scooby after he died. I weeped heavily in memory of my first puppy. Maybe that played a part in my affections for Scrappy.
We originally intended to adopt a dog from a rescue shelter, and even visited some around town. All we found were sweatshops of mostly large dogs barking as we traveled down the hallway. Their howls for help was a terribly life-scarring sound.
Most of these were in BAD shape. The tags on their cage doors had question marks next to vaccinations on the label checklist.
Since Chipley and I are both dog lovers, we would have taken them all if we lived on a large expanse of land. Not sure our small condo could hold all the homeless labs...
Anyway, we took a vow to wait and see, to keep looking. But I couldn't get that dog out of my head. He was a Havanese, a breed I had never heard of before. After doing some research, I found out that Havanese dogs are almost perfect - laid back temperament, easy to train, pleasant smelling, silky hair that doesn't shed (good for my allergies), etc.
Yadda yadda yadda, Chipley gave in and we got the dog. I had always decided that I would name my next dog "Scrappy", the name of Scooby's sidekick in the cartoons.
We signed up for a puppy training class this week, as the bathroom mishaps and teething problems are getting pretty "ruff," but I have no regrets.
The way I see it, we were going to get a dog sooner or later, and Scrappy just came around sooner.
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