First Year Dog Owner

Anna a few weeks after we got her last July-about 10 mons old.

Anna & Roxi staring at the gleaming lake in February!

Anna looking all pretty late this spring.

This week concludes the first year that I have spent as a first time dog owner and what a year it has been! ;) Growing up I never had dogs. I always had a feeling that at some point I'd have one, but I was never a huge fan of the smell and of dog behaviors in general. The hub and I had agreed on getting a dog but were going to wait so we'd still have freedom to easily travel, move, etc...but the hub is very charming and we got Anna toward the end of last July from a local humane society. She was the first dog we really focused on in the kennels and we loved her. Two days after bringing her home we discovered she was really sick and the vet wasn't entirely sure she'd make it. The hub left town for a few days for work, so Anna and I began our initial love-hate relationship: two hours to get meds in her, constantly wiping down the walls from her sneezes, getting up early to let her out of her kennel, and constantly watching her to make sure she didn't chew us out of house and home. I'm not sure that puppy love overly applied here.

Anna's death record includes: at least 3 chew toys, two stuffed animals, 2 blankets, 3 pairs of sandals/flip flops, two lawn chairs, one ceramic bowl, one plastic water bowl, a Nalgene, her dog bed, corners of three rugs, the leg of a stool, 3 wash cloths, and a cat collar.

But somehow a dog wins its way into your heart. By December, she'd mainly stopped chewing, she no longer had accidents in the house, and she made a great walking companion. During those months of being unemployed, she became my steady companion and my right hand gal. I looked forward to waking up and letting her out of her kennel in the mornings and of bestowing upon her lots of hugs and kisses. However, as much as I'd walk her and as much as the hub would play with her, she still was bored....and our housing company was about to implement pet deposits for new animals within the next month so.........enter Dog #2! ;) And the end of December, Roxi joined our home--needing to be trained but more innocent and loving than most animals could ever be coming out of such a dire place.

The two dogs are about as different in personality as you can imagine. Anna's solid, stubborn, and inquistive. Roxi's sweet, playful, and apprehensive. Anna picks up a new command even if she'll fight you the whole way on it, where as Roxi takes multiple attempts to train and even then its whether or not she totally feels up to it. Anna barges head on into a room while Roxi dances in the doorway til she thinks its safe and fun to enter. Anna is a line backer and Roxi is her cheerleader on the sidelines. The two play for hours on end--chasing each other and their lil rubber toys. They'll growl over bones and sing to each other the next moment.

And I have to say---I wouldn't go back on having our ladies at all. The dogs turn my gray mornings sunny. They entertain me in so many ways. They wiggle their way up to my arms or manuever their heads under my hands just so I have to give them a scritch. When I'm angry, their playful nature cools my jets. When I'm sad, they come to investigate my tears. When I'm happy, they want to dance and play. When we're napping, they're laying along the sides of our beds. They help the hub grill and they help me clean. They're anxious to help me run. They lower my blood pressure and decrease my stress, and they bring us hours upon hours of entertainment.

So while it's been a rather eventful dog year, I don't know that I would have had it any other way. I'm definitely nervous about finding housing for two crazy mutts, but I know in all things God will provide. So here's to more laughter, more fur, and more smiles---and many more dog years to come!