Dog?!

Austin read the book Henry Huggins.  In the book, the boy gets a dog. When we were in Myrtle Beach, Melissa had just gotten a dog.  Austin enjoyed playing with him.  That got us thinking a bit about a dog.  Brian has always grown up with dogs. He fondly remembers his childhood with a dog.  Brian and I enjoyed having Sam together. 

Before covid, we were not home much.  We enjoyed traveling.  A dog never really crossed our minds. However since we have been home since March, getting a dog doesn't seem like that bad of an idea.  So if we are going to get a dog, now would be the time. We are not going to get a dog two years from now.  I normally work from home.  So even when things pick up, I will still be home with the dog all day.  When we have sports in the evening, it won't be so bad leaving the dog. 

Austin convinced Sydney about the dog.  Sydney just wanted a pet.  I think she feels bad at school, when she doesn't have a pet and most other kids do. Now with Sydney on his side, he had to convince us to get him a dog.  I was fine either way.  Part of me wanted a dog and the other part knew we were crazy.  Brian the practical one was more difficult to convince.  But since he had dogs as a child, it knew what the important bond it was.

I started reaching out to rescue agencies about certain dogs.  I realized it's not that easy to get a dog.  I understand but I do believe we would take very good care of a dog.  But we don't have a fenced in yard.  We are not established pet owners.  And we have children.  So no one would looked at us to get a dog.  Next I went looking for a breeder. Brian and I decided we either wanted a labador retreiver or a golden retriever. The more I thought about it the more I realized I wanted a golden retreiver.  I found a local breeder that had a dog coming available in a few weeks.

We decided to go and look at the dogs. We wanted to see if this would really work for us.  Before we did that though I did my homework.  I found kennels and doggie daycare for when we are away.  I looked into pet training options.  I found a vet. Brian and I discussed the time and cost factor of having a dog.  We decided we thought it was worth it for the kids. 

When we picked out the dog, we got the dog that was the most interactive with us.  The kids want a dog to play with.  We are an active family.  And this dog was just the cutest little thing ever!  On the car ride home, we all decided to get the dog. Austin and Sydney were so excited. They were singing a song and everything.  We called Auntie Melissa who was also so excited. 

Before we picked out the dog, Austin came up with the perfect name, London.  It fits with our travel themed names for kids.  We are all very excited about London!