Sharing

Since going MIA a lot has happened in the McKew house.

I have taken a firm stance in our house - no dog. I've been successful holding this position for 5 years... and recently Pat has urged me to reconsider this position.

I had rules as we began to consider a "friend for Jacob" because this was completely about Jacob and not about his Daddy wanting a dog :
1 - I wanted an older dog, NOT a puppy
2 - I wanted a dog that would be house trained
3 - I wanted a hypoallergenic dog
4 - I wanted a dog that could be left alone all day while we were at work
5 - I wanted a dog that Jacob fell in love with

Secretly I've known we would never find a dog like this at the humane society and we would not justify the expense of buying a dog from a breeder that met all my qualifications. So, we would remain a no dog family for quite a while longer.

We began to visit the humane society to "walk" dogs. We did this for several weeks and Jacob never made a connection with any dog. One Friday night when we went in there was an older boxer. She had just had surgery but Pat and Jacob were immediately drawn to her. So we took her out for a walk. She calmly walked to the back door, never jumping to get our attention, never barking and never pulling on the leash. When we got outside she let Jacob walk her around.

She waited to go to the bathroom until we were outside and then walked around at Jacob's pace. When Jacob sat down, so did she. We returned her to her cage since it was late in the day and Jacob threw a 2 year old FIT! But I stood firm, no dog, doesn't meet the requirements.

Pat and I called to get more information on her the next day.

Sunday we went back to see her again and see if she was still there. She was. We got her out again and as she and Jacob played they mimicked one another. I was leering that this was a good dog to keep "walking"... she was BIG - 50 lbs and she slobbered a lot. I made a mental note to make a 6th requirement on the list... no slobbery dogs, only neat and tidy ones. She had been a stray and only at the shelter a few days so no one knew how she would really be with kids and so we put her back. Plus she still did not meet my requirements... she was not hypoallergenic.

When we took her to her cage I found a smaller dog I liked... what about this one I asked the boys? They humored me and took him to the "get to know you room" where Jacob would only say "back" and not even interact with the smaller dog. I asked,

"Do you want me to put him back?"

"shoes" {Jacob’s word for yes}

He shook his head yes and went straight to the door, pulled the handle to open the door and let the dog run out... Pat and I chased the dog and Jacob down the halls of the humane society to put the dog back. Jacob walked through the rows of cages and back to the boxer. Where he stood in front of her cage and waived his hand at her.

"Mo mon" {His version of come on}

Pat smirked and asked me how I was going to say no, now?

We have a dog. Her name is Raven. She has a purple collar and we are in search of a Ravens collar.