perro!

We've added a member to our family! Here she is.

Perro, yet to be officially named, is a six-month-old black lab mix puppy that we adopted today from the Saint Paul Animal Humane Society. She is so cute! We've always known that we would eventually get another dog (some of you know that when we were engaged and living in New York, we had a crazy little beagle named Scout who ended up running away from my parents' house in Southern California the month before Kevin and I got married - broke our hearts), and we've been more seriously considering it ever since we moved into the house. I mean, you buy a house with a fenced in yard and it's practically required that you get a dog.

Kevin had convinced me that it would be better to wait until next spring before getting a dog (since we had so much going on with getting the house together over the past few months), but it was always on our radar, and over the course of the summer we checked out a number of dogs at various shelters in the Twin Cities. Yesterday we decided, sort of on a whim, to go to the shelter in St. Paul, just to check things out. I ended up falling in love with Luvvey (as Perro was called in the shelter) instantly. Kevin was super nervous that we would end up going home with a dog that night (I married such a practical man), and was also hoping to eventually convince me to go for a Boston Terrier, so he didn't let himself fall in love with her right away. I agreed it was too impulsive to make a decision that night (it's definitely my usual style to just go for it - I showed uncharacteristic restraint), so we put down a $25 holding deposit which allowed us to mull things over until 6pm today, without any risk of someone else adopting her.

We went to PETCO last night and made a list of things we would need to buy, and then we went home to talk about the cost of owning a dog, the lifestyle changes required, and why we wanted to be dog owners. We came to no consensus last night, despite our practical pros/cons talk, and I think both of us spent a lot of time thinking about it all today. By the time we met up at the shelter at 5:45 tonight, we were still undecided (though, if I'm being honest, I'll say I had pretty much made up my mind that we needed to take her home with us!). We each played with her in her kennel for a bit, and then we took her out for a short walk (where she showed us the utter lack of leash manners that she had cleverly kept hidden from us yesterday - I was mentally urging her to behave so that Kevin wouldn't have a real reason to object to her going home with us), and then I said the most brilliant thing I've ever said: "Kevin, we're just going to get her. We'll never be really ready for a dog, so, we just have to go for it. You know in 10 years we'll be laughing about the fact that we debated so much over the decision to adopt her. Everything's going to be okay. You know it is!" Brilliantly convincing argument, no? And then Kevin looked at me, resignation mingled with anxiety and excitement on his cute face, and shortly after that we were handing over our money and signing adoption papers. Woot!

A quick trip to Fleet Farm (I can't adequately explain that place to my non-Midwestern readers, but, let me say that it kicks serious butt) for supplies (the awesome ladies at the shelter tipped us off to how much cheaper Fleet Farm is than PETCO), and then we we were home with our sweet girl. She seems to be taking the transition in stride so far - lots of sniffing around in the back yard, casual checking out of things on the main floor of the house, and she has taken to her crate beautifully (she even stays in there when the door is open). She has a great temperament, has puppy energy without being insane, is friendly and engaging, and, it should be said, is stinking adorable (though I am very partial to black labs). Not to paint myself as an overly naive new dog parent, I will admit that she has a chewing problem (currently being remedied by a Kong toy that she's been going to town on all night), and, as previously mentioned, she has abominable leash manners (she almost took me out when we were walking her at the shelter today). Nothing some obedience classes, plenty of consistent discipline, and lots of exercise and affection can't remedy. We are so excited to be dog owners again, and we can't wait to bond with her and to introduce her to all of our friends' dogs.

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely Thanksgiving week!

P.S. - It's that time of year again: 3M holiday commercials are up and running! I can't find the paper cutter commercial that Kevin worked on last year, so instead I'll share this vintage (2003) one that I like.


P.S. #2 - Congrats to our friends, Emily and Tyler, who welcomed their sweet baby girl a week ago, and to our friends, Becky and Jarom (and their three older kids), who welcomed the sixth member of the brood, an adorable little boy, this past Friday. We're so happy for all of you!