Three is a magic number

Big news!  A couple months ago, L and I talked about it and agreed we should expand our family sometime in the next year by way of a pet.  Which means a dog, although after cat-sitting Allie a couple of times, I think he sees the allure of  a cat, given our our current lifestyle and the fact that we travel for extended periods.  This all means I search online about once a week for the perfect dog for us.  I know we will get a rescue dog of some kind; when I see how many dogs there are out there that need homes, it just doesn't feel right in my heart to get a puppy from a breeder.  Plus, I honestly don't have the time or desire right now to train a puppy. 

I'd originally thought we'd wait til after Christmas to bring a pooch into our house, what with going back to Texas and cold weather and all, but after all the travel L's done recently (and with lots more on the horizon), I'm reconsidering my timeline.  Weekends all alone are just not that fun.  But, there are some major things to consider at this juncture that keep me from moving full-steam ahead.  First, most friends of mine that have dogs have parents, siblings, or close friends near by to watch their dogs when they go out of town.  A lucky few even have friends with whom they take turns dog-sitting for each other.  We won't have that option here and that's going to limit our freedom on an extra level beyond just making sure that we come home frequently to let the dog into the yard.  I really don't love that part of this.  Food and toys won't make much of a difference in our weekly budget, but vet bills and the cost of boarding a dog while we go gallivanting off to distant places will certainly change things.  However, in regards to vet bills, I actually can opt in for pet health insurance through work.  Yes, my company offers pet health insurance in the benefits package.  I laughed when I read that section of the benefits package.  I have no idea if it's worth it to do that or not, but it's nice to know it's an option.

The other thing that makes me hesitant to jump into the world of pet ownership is that I know pets just don't live forever.  One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was put the cat that I grew up with to sleep.  I wasn't anticipating it (I was keeping her for two weeks as a stress reliever for myself) but she was old and had had kidney problems for a while.  Thanks to my first job out of college, I was able to spot the signs of impending death (I mean everyone learned that at their first job, right?) and blah blah blah, I suddenly found myself asking JG and EBG to go with me to the vet one night*.  It was horrible.  And it broke my heart, because that kitty was a soul mate of mine on a certain level.  Five and a half years later, I still miss her and I still sometimes forget that she's not there when I go to my parents' house.  Honestly, it's scary to know that when we get a pet, I will face that same loss and heartbreak again.  But to be fair, the only reason it hurts when they go is because you have so much fun and love them so much while they are with you.  And I promise that's the end of the Debbie Downer part of this post.

So back to the fun stuff.  I've come to realize I want either a miniature dachshund** or a small beagle.  They fit the size (small-medium without being too extreme on either end, so, like under 25-ish pounds; basically, if our dog decides not to remember the training commands we teach him/her, I don't want it to knock people over or reach your waist if it jumps on you), personality, and grooming requirements (while long-haired dogs make the cutest of pups, I do not care to deal with constantly cleaning up long dog hair everywhere).  I mean in an ideal world, golden retrievers and labs wouldn't be quite as big, weigh as much, or shed, but that's not the case.  If you know me or you've read my blog for a while, you know that my parents' dog, Boomer, is a dachshund and I love him to pieces.  He's just so hilarious.  I don't know what the attraction is to beagles, but as long as they are small, there is something about them that I keep going back to.  Here's my most recent list of potential candidates to join our clan:

Allie McBeagle 

Blake

Caramel

Charlie

Fenway

Gracie

Maurice

Rolo

Tiny

Tucker

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a sucker for the background stories on all these pups.  L already wrinkled his nose one time at sweet Gracie because he saw that she's a senior.  At the beginning of my dog searching, I totally admit I was turned off at the idea of getting an older dog, but it's so sad to see how many older dogs are out there that no one wants, and it's just because they're older.  I always see them and read their stories and think, "I could love you!"  I'm an easy target.  This is largely why I'm not allowed to go to Target alone on Saturday afternoons (it's right next door to PetsMart and Saturdays are when they always have their adoption events).


*By the way, want to know what good friends are?  Good friends are ones that will go with you to the vet to put your pet down and will stand by you while you cry your eyes out waiting for the end.  And then they take you home and check up on you.  I have some really good friends.

**FYI, I know that dachshund is spelled weird.  It's German.  But for the record, those Hs are silent and you do pronounce the C.  I used to have a picture of Boomer as my desktop background on my work computer.  I recently worked with someone for about 4 1/2 months and she would frequently comment that she wanted to get a a dachshund some day except she would pronounce it dashund.  So annoying.  Do not do this.