Puppies, puppies, puppies

Last October, we lost our mini-doxie and it was bad. Really bad. She was our spoiled baby, and the household was in deep mourning for weeks.

But at that point we decided (my husband and I both) that we'd take a break from dogs for a few years. As cute and adorable and wonderful as they are, they are also a huge responsibility. You can't leave the house without thinking of them. Who will feed them? Who will walk them? How long can we really be gone? Not to mention the expense. Food, vet bills, leashes, dog beds, replacing broken things.

As much as we miss out doxie, it's been nice to be dog-free for the past five months.

But . . . lately I started thinking that it's not as much fun to live in a house without pets. (okay, we have a couple of fish, but let's face it, they don't do much) Besides, the kids really benefit from growing up with pets. And they've been asking about getting another dog quite a bit.

So, today I took them to a shelter -- just to look. We found what they tell us is a doxie-mix puppy. Doesn't look like any doxie I've ever seen, but what do I know. They took him out of his little cage and let the kids play with him. Of course they loved him. So I decided (probably decided before I walked into that shelter) that we are never going to be a dogless family.

I'll have to invest in a good dogsitter for those times we go on vacation or are away for the weekend, but I hope I made the right decision. Tomorrow we bring him home. He had to get neutered today -- poor thing.

Lara