A Girl's Best Friend

I sat down to blog about something completely different, but I ran across this pic and had to brag about this guy who's stolen my heart.

As an only child, my siblings were my two dogs. Unlike true siblings, though, there was no rivalry; we were best pals. I remember as a little tyke, perched on the deck in my back yard, ice cream cone in hand, between my two terriers. I'd take a lick, pass to the right, take another lick, pass to the left. Doesn't get much better than that!

When my husband and I got married, I knew we needed a dog. 12 years, 3 kids, new furniture, and lots of hemming and hawing later, we finally got one. By then I was hesitant. I still wanted a faithful side-kick, but was fully aware of the work the new family member would bring (and was mindful of my long-anticipated new furniture!). Not for a minute did I believe all the "but mo-0-0-0-0-m, I'll do all the work. I'll clean poop and walk him and feed him and and and..." I knew when we got a dog I needed to be ready for a fourth kid. It took watching #1's grief after the death of her frog to convince me it was time.

It might sound funny, but I immediately started praying. I don't deliberate well. Once I make a decision, I'm full speed ahead, let's get this thing done. I accomplish a lot with this mindset, but I also have a tendency to run ahead of God. With last winter's depression and overwhelmedness still fresh in my mind, I did not want to get wrapped up in the romanticism of a new puppy and miss a possible "wait" whisper from God. So I prayed and looked at newspaper ads. Long story short, we found a breeder that had pups available. And a short few weeks later we brought home a 10 pound yellow fluff ball we named Koa. Isn't he the handsomest thing you've ever seen!