If you follow me on the Twitter then you know that last night I watched Marley and Me and I cried my little eyes out. That movie always get to me, it so sad. And now that we have Chandler I really felt Owen Wilson’s characters’ pain. The love for your dog is a strong one, almost as strong as that for a child. I know I shouldn’t be comparing a dog and a child but Chandler is our first experience as parents, so he’s as close to a kid as K and I will have for a while.
K and I got Chandler this past Thanksgiving. We first went to a posh, bugie, upscale pet store by our apartment. I was uber excited and was certain we would be leaving the pet store with a puppy. K kept reminding me that we were just looking and that if we happened to find a dog that was in our price range then we would buy it. But he wasn’t making any promises. We looked around as I feel in love with pugs, beagles, and puppies of all breeds. When we went up to a clerk to find out the prices we were both floored, all the puppies offered were well over our budget. Since I have the mentality of a child, I stormed out and almost burst into tears. K quickly followed me and said that we would save money and come back in a couple of months. As we left the mall he suggested we go to PetSmart to see if they were having an adoption day. Well, since there is never an adoption fair when we’ve gone in the past I was sure that we would have no luck. I didn’t want to go and see owners with their dogs while we walked in empty handed. But he convinced me.
As we walked closer to the sliding doors of the store I could see the colorful isle that read DOG AND CAT ADOPTION; THANKSGIVING SPECIAL! My hopes and dreams were restored as I ran inside and straight to the back where they usually display the dogs. Then I saw him. And he totally saw me because he perked up and made his way through the sea of other dogs (that couldn’t compare to his cuteness) to greet me. I fell in love with him on the spot and refused to leave the store without him. We signed all the paperwork on the spot and took him home within the hour.
Flash forward eight months to last night. As I got into bed (tears in my eyes and a runny nose) with my boys I asked K how long do dogs live. Imagine my disbelief when he said 8-10 years standard. I freaked out and said that wasn’t long enough, how was that possible?!? He explained the whole 7 dog years to 1 human year thing and I got even sadder than I was. In nine years Chandler will no longer be a hyper puppy but a seasoned dog of 63 years of age. So, although he drives me nuts at times I’m going to try and value the time I have with him now because for the first dog I’ve ever had, I couldn’t have asked for more.
Dress (Victoria’s Secret) Striped Tank (TJ Maxx), Peep Toe Espadrilles (Old Navy)
