Puppy Fever

GUYS - my parents just adopted a puppy.

😱💕

Those emojis have literally been me all weekend. Really, since I found out they were adopting a puppy. My parents got to take little Dash home this weekend, and my little brother and I got to meet him over Skype. I literally cried when I saw him. He's that cute - not that you need me to tell you.

Because J and I have two cats, people always assume I'm a "cat person." Honestly, I'm not. I'm an animal person. Cats are just easier to take care of than most animals while still having very strong personalities, which I like. As a kid, I was all about that dog life. I wanted a dog sooo bad. I researched everything I could about breeds, about training, about how to care for them - I wanted to show my parents that I was responsible. They got me a cat instead, which turned out incredible; but when Tabby died when I was fourteen, we adopted a Bichon puppy who we named Kichon, and who lived with us until she passed away this January. My parents let me train her, but it became clear pretty early on that she was attached to my mom, so she became my parent's dog more than mine.

Now that I'm an "adult," I don't want a dog any less. You know that scene in "Baby Mama" where Tina Fey keeps seeing babies everywhere? Like, every time she sees one on the street, she gets all heart-eyed, and suddenly she's hyper aware of every baby? That's literally me with dogs right now. Denver is a very dog-friendly city, at least in the area we're in right now, so it feels like I see dogs everywhere I go. I want to pet every single one. I went for a walk a few days ago and I was actually bummed that no one offered to let me pet their dog. Like, strangers. I'm a freak, I know.

J and I are trying not to get a dog until we have a house, which, at this point, who knows how long that will be. The market sucks for buyers right now and we're getting really discouraged. We could technically get a dog if we move into a new apartment (3 pet max), but it's probably not the responsible thing to do. *Sigh*

When we are ready to adopt a dog, we're pretty set on adopting from a shelter. Both our cats are from shelters in Iowa, and it's generally the route I think is best. We talked about adopting a husky for a while, and if we did, we'd pretty much have to buy a puppy from a breeder, because there's no conceivable way husky puppies are just sitting around in shelters. Huskies and Malamutes have a very high prey instinct because they're the least domesticated dogs (the most like wolves), which means they'll chase it and try to kill it as long as "it" is small, runs, and is furry. Cats very much fit that description, so if we decided to go with a husky, we'd pretty much have to get a puppy to ensure that the cats could "train" it before it got big enough to kill them, haha. We still would love a husky, but I think at this point, it's more important to us to adopt from a shelter than to get the breed of dog we want.

As far as other breeds, I know J would love to adopt a French Bulldog or a Pug. I wouldn't be against it, but I would love to have a bigger dog that could go on runs with us. I want a dog that can play fetch and run on the beach when we go to Hilton Head - not that a pug can't do that (and for the record, I love Pugs), but they're not exactly athletic dogs, haha. I'm also all in favor of a medium-sized herding dog, like an Australian Shephard or a Heeler, which I know J would be on board with. We both really love pit bulls and bully-mixes, but there are so many breed bans that it makes it almost impossible to rent and adopt a pit bull... I assume we'll end up adopting some kind of mixed breed dog - it's just a matter of size and type.

I won't even let myself look on Denver shelter websites right now, because the temptation is too much... I'll have to satisfy my puppy fever through kind strangers that let me pet their dog at the park. For now.