We adopted a dog a week ago! We had been to a few shelters and were constantly looking online to see if we could find a good fit for our family. There were quite a few that we had really liked but it didn't work out for some reason or another. I was very heartbroken over this one that didn't work out... then Dave took the kids to the shelter while I was helping my sister get ready to host a party for one of her friends. As they were walking through looking at all the dogs, this little one jumped up and wanted Ashlynn's attention. They got her out and held her for a few minutes and both kids fell in love with her. Dave was able to put a 24 hour hold on her so I would be able to come in and meet her and we could make a decision together.
So the next day the four of us and my sister, Becca, headed to the shelter. The got the dog out for us and we were able to take her outside and spend some time with her. It wasn't love at first site for me. She's a chihuahua mix (although to me she doesn't look like a chihuahua at all...) and I've just never been a fan of chihuahuas. The shelter was about to close so we had to take her inside and make a decision. There were quite a few people in line ahead of us so we were able to sit and talk about it. I said no at first. The kids were devastated, especially Dawson which surprised me because he's never been a dog (or any kind of pet person) before. He was sitting on the floor crying and the dog slowly walked over and started giving him kisses on the face. Something about that moment changed everything for me. It had been a good 20 minutes that I was saying no and we'd keep looking but I had a change of heart. Dave was leaving it up to me because he knows we've tried this once before (we got a great dane puppy that was way too much for me and we had to find her a new home after a month) so he wanted me to be 100% comfortable and on board. He's seriously the best.
So once we decided we were going to adopt her we still had to wait our turn... I think we were there for an hour after they closed. But during that hour she was growing more and more on me so I am glad we had that extra time to just confirm my decision. We talked about naming her... Ashlynn said we should name her Snowflake which I thought was hilarious because she's almost all black. It just didn't fit.
I said what if we name her Maleficent since she's all black? The kids didn't like it at first and I told them we could call her Mal for short... or better yet, Malley. And they loved it. So she's named after Maleficent (although she is definitely not a villain!) but we call her Malley. I LOVE her name, I don't think I've ever heard it before but it fits her so well. She looks like a Malley
She is such a great dog!! She's so patient with the kids and she listens pretty well. We're going to take some classes with her because she does go a little nuts on our walks when there are other dogs around.... or if she's distracted she won't listen to us. We'll learn together and we'll all be happier. :) She's only about 9 pounds and full grown at 3 years old. I think a small, adult dog is definitely what we needed. We sure love her!
1 comment:
The kids are going to love their new dog! :)
Post a Comment