May 15, 2008 | Mama Smith
more ammo for me
I’ve been wanting a pet for…well, my whole life. Above is a shot of me with my “pet whale” I fondly called Shamu. Just like most little girls, more than anything though, I wanted a puppy of my own.
After much pleading, for my 6th birthday, I received a card with a stuffed dog that said my wish was finally granted and I would be able to pick out a puppy. A few days after bringing home my adorable, fluffy yellow ball, he started bleeding one night when Mom & Dad were out and about a week later died of parvo. This was the sad fate of Odie #1.
Odie #2 was around a little bit longer, but was a fear biter. Nipping at anyone she didn’t approve of. Not a favorable selling point for my mother who was pregnant with my youngest sister. Fear biters and newborns don’t mix. Odie #2 kindly took care of our worries by chewing out her freshly spayed stitches. Dad found her passed on behind the shed with her intestines hanging out the day Emily was born. Very Flannery O’Connoresque.
A few years later I cried myself to sleep for a week after finding an ad for an Old English Sheepdog mix (my favorite dog of the month) in the paper…perfectly timed a few weeks before our big family move from SC to VA. There was no way my parents were including a new puppy into that chaotic mix.
Two smelly golden retrievers later joined our family but neither of them were mine. So now I’m working on Matthew. Unfortunately, he’s tougher than even my parents were.
As we wait for the right timing to bring a dog into our already crazy mix (I know, I know, people…what am I thinking!?) Brighton, Levi and I continue hovering over the dogs at the parks and around the neighborhood.
Today I found my friend’s boxer roaming through the streets after he’d escaped his backyard. When we brought him home and drove away Brighton remarked, “Oh, that’s sad, Mama. Maybe we go buy a new dog? Okay!”
Thus is begins.
Sorry Matthew, I’m slowly coercing them into my camp. Soon you’ll have three people pestering and begging. You can only hold out for so long.
em said,
i have the perfect dog for you, she is an english setter, slightly hyper and thinks she is a 50lb lab dog, but so freakin lovable! she is the bestest!!! her name is maggie! yay for adopting maggie!!
Rach said,
if this isn’t the Amy I know and love :) haha, way to work the angles to warm his heart, plus throw in the freaky sad stories of your childhood!! hehee. i support Odie #3.
Rosie said,
The offer is still on the table for Pancho. He could be ALL YOURS!!!!!!! I promise to bathe him before dropping him off (at 12 noon today)
em said,
hey, amy
i just managed to talk my hubby josh into allowing me to get a puppy, after MUCH begging and pleading. (read: since BEFORE we were married.) i understand your plight! :o)
debby (gifford) vannoy from covenant and her hubby, jon, have a litter of chocolate lab puppies that they are selling. they will be available to take home next week. i can hardly wait to get ours! i think they still have 2 males left, if you can convince matt.
here’s deb’s blog with photos of the pups since they were born at easter: www.jondebsarah.blogspot.com
good luck,
em
dave said,
amy,
i understand where you are coming from. i’ve been wanting a dog lately. but, sarah helped me to see the folly of my thinking. don’t give in. matthew — stand firm, hold your ground. amy — it’s time for a reality check… the joys of being a dog owner would soon be diminished with the stench of dog excrement, cost of dog food and vet visits. i sound so negative but hey, that’s what friends are for.
Marcy said,
Use Koby as an example of a lovable, kid friendly, loyal companion. And you could even get one that doesn’t pee when he gets patted!!
allison said,
I think your nuts, but I am not a pet fan in general. My sister in law just got a puppy a few weeks ago, and she can’t go anywhere longer than an hour and a half so she can get home to do something with the dog (help train it to pee, poop, sleep, stop biting…). It sounds like newborn land all over again, except hairier! I don’t know…I think I would wait at least until the boys can help YOU take care of it. Ok, there’s my two-pence…ONLY because I’m thinking of your freedom!!
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