Fin's adventure today

This is the message Fin (our dog, in case you don't remember) would like me to send out to the world on his behalf today:

Dear manhood,

RIP. You kept getting me into trouble anyway.

Sincerely,

Fin

I'm not sure if he's as excited as Sam and I are excited for him to be neutered, but he hasn't said otherwise so I have to assume he's thrilled. Congrats, Fin, on no longer being a menace to society!

Holly + Sam + puppy = a very merry Christmas

So, some of you may remember that for Christmas last year, Sam bought me a dog collar as a way of saying he was ready to buy a dog. And, also as some of you may remember, I sort of freaked out when we actually went looking at dogs [some might say I discovered I have commitment issues], and we ended up going home just the two of us.

Well, a month or two ago we started feeling like maybe now we [and by "we" I mean "I"] were ready for a dog now. We started looking at KSL ads and everything, and then I started getting the panicky feeling I got last year. So I told Sam, "If you feel like now is a good time for us to get a dog, you're going to have to get one and surprise me." This is because I can handle the commitment if the commitment's already been made, but to choose the commitment . . . that's much more risky.

Well, it's no longer just the two of us. We've become a family of three! Meet Glorfindel ("Fin" for short--and 20 points to anyone who correctly identifies the origin of his name):

Isn't he absolutely the cutest thing you've ever seen? Sam surprised me with him for Christmas. He was so sneaky about it--I had no idea he'd done it until last night as we were going to bed and we heard whimpering upstairs. Considering our landlady is a firm cat person, I knew the whimpering was for me. Sam tried to ignore it and I tried to pretend not to hear it, but after it'd gone on for a while and gotten progressively louder, he turned to me and said, "Do you want one of your Christmas presents early?"

Fin is such a good little dog already. He's 1/2 golden retriever, 1/2 poodle (meaning he'll get quite big, we think) and is 10 weeks old. We started him potty training right away, and he's already got the idea that when we take him outside, it means it's time to empty his bowels. Also, he's learned what "no" means and learned that shoes always provoke a stern "no," as does chewing on clothes, toes, chair legs, etc. We went to Walgreen's [the only store open today, I think] and got him a tug-of-war rope and a little rabbit that squeaks, and he fell in love with both. Pretty much they're his new best friends.

Speaking of Fin's best friends, Sam's his #1 best friend. If Sam's laying on the floor, Fin will go lay on top of him, practically, every time. He makes a very good little shadow, too. We're watching Star Wars: Return of the Jedi currently, and he's been so funny during it. Despite being dead tired [We wore him out, so hopefully he'll sleep as well tonight as he did last night.], he'll sit straight up every once in a while and just watch the TV with this perplexed look on his face, like he just doesn't know what to make of it and the sounds coming out of it. I wish I had a picture of it. And he's soooo soft. I love to pet and cuddle him, and he loves to be petted and cuddled. We think he'll be a really good dog, especially if we're consistent with him.

So, welcome to the family, Fin! We're so excited to have you. Pretty much all we need now is a baby for you to grow up with. Family of four, anyone?

We've been approved for adoption! Check out our incredibly awesome adoption profile at https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24950903/ourMessage.jsf.

How Much Is That Doggie In the Window . .

So for Christmas, one of the presents I opened from Sam was this. Yes, that is exactly what you think it is. A dog collar.

I think I screamed. I've certainly never been so excited about anything in my life. You see, ever since Sam and I got married [four years ago already! can you believe that?!], I've wanted a dog. I see other couples walking their dog and sigh wistfully. But Sam wasn't ready for a dog. And then with this present, he was saying, "Let's become parents!" [sort of] He even talked to our landlady, and she was totally excited about it. She even offered to watch it for us when we'd be gone a long time. It was going to be perfect.

We were out of town for Christmas, so we planned to go puppy shopping when we got home, meaning the puppy would be a Christmas/anniversary present. How incredibly awesome is that?

So for the week preceding this exciting day, all I could think of were dogs. All kinds.

This kind:

This kind:


This kind:

This kind:

Etc.

Aren't they so adorable?

Well, I wrote down the addresses of all of the shelters in our area, and that Monday (the 28th) we went puppy shopping. We went to nearly ten different shelters [which is really quite impressive, if you think about it], and at the last one we found the perfect dog.

A black lab female, about a year old. So sweet and so eager to be involved in whatever we were doing. And she wasn't that big, either. Maybe fifty pounds, max.

And then I froze.

All of a sudden, I was like, "Wait a minute. We could be bringing her home. She could become a part of our family. It would never be just me and Sam again."

And that was that. No dog.

Confession: I have a fear of commitment when it comes to adopting a dog.

I totally couldn't handle it--and after years of wishing and begging for one. How totally weird is that? Haha.

I'm not saying I don't want a dog, ever. Far from it. I would love a dog in the future. Perhaps five years from now, when Sam is [hopefully] done with school and when we [hopefully] have a house and when we [hopefully] have at least one little munchkin running around underfoot. I would especially love a goldendoodle [the first picture] or a cockapoo [the second picture]. I'm just not ready for one now.

But the experience has taught me a few things. 1: I'm willing to pay good money for a dog that doesn't shed [primarily because of my allergies, but also because of how much less sweeping/vacuuming I'll have to do]. 2: There is a time and season for everything [and this is not the time or the season for a dog]. 3: Daydreaming about having a dog is very different from facing the possibility of actually bringing one home.

I'm sure I learned more, but I don't feel like thinking about this more in-depth than I have already.

Anyway, seeing as how I can't handle a commitment to a dog, I started thinking of what else I could own and take care of and love. [Besides George, the Build-A-Bear Sam got me for our first Valentine's Day. He's ridiculously low maintenance.]

I'm thinking I'm ready for this:

I think I can handle a hamster. I'm pretty excited about it, actually. I was thinking of Rhino for a name, in honor of the furry little critter on Bolt. Sam suggested something more Lord of the Rings-esque, which I am also firmly in favor of. What do you think? Can I handle a hamster? Any other suggestions of small, relatively low-maintenance pets? [preferably furry ones] I'm open to suggestions.

[all images via Google Images]