looking out the fishbowl.

puppy love.

I was running out of stuff to blog about. The second year of law school is much better than the first, but doesn't provide much in the way of fascinating subject matter. Life had settled into a wonderfully calm rhythm of studying and coffee and riding and hanging with friends.

And then the boyfriend and I's world was turned upside down in the most wonderful of ways.

We have been talking about getting a dog for ... two years now? It had just never been the right time ... our lives were too all over the place, too chaotic. The boyfriend lived 30 minutes away and worked another 30 minutes away from that and I certainly couldn't afford a dog on my own. Then, a couple weeks ago, he found out he got a new job ... very very close to his current apartment ... which meant he could come to Looneyville a whole lot more often. And he would be making a little more money, not a ton more, but a little more. And life seemed more stable than ever ...

On Saturday we were bored and were needing a serious doggie fix so we decided to drive to the Big City to work the pet store circuit. Where there are pet stores there are always dogs to play with ... the operative word here being play, NOT purchase.

So we stopped at PetSmart and they were having an adoption day with a couple local shelters. Josh had run into the store next door for a second and was going to meet me in the pet store. We had no idea our lives were about to change drastically.

I saw her the second I walked in. There may as well have been a spot light on her because my eyes went straight to her. Were there any other dogs there? I didn't even know. I went right to her and sat down. She put her head in my lap and wagged her tail and I was in love. I knew ... I just knew that this was the one.

As much as the boyfriend and I LOVE dogs, we had a lot of specfics in mind for what we wanted our first dog to be. Criteria number one was that she had to be a runner. We wanted a medium-ish size dog who was around a year old. She absolutely had to get along with other dogs and could not be aggressive towards people. She had to be quiet and fairly calm and do ok in an 1100 square foot apartment. She had to be a bed sleeper. She had to not want to kill my guinea pigs.

The dog I saw when I walked into PetSmart was a 60 pound, one-ish year old black lab with amber eyes and a white blaze down her chest. Pure lab. Absolutely gorgeous dog. She was as sweet as could be and amazingly calm despite the madness around her. My parents have two labs, so I know that not all of them like to run. But this one was small and slender and just had that runner look about her.

We sat and played with her for an hour. Totally in love, not thinking we would be taking her home. The adoption people started talking to us more seriously. Are you looking for a dog? Whay makes you say you're "not ready"? Have you had labs before?. We told them about how I live in an apartment and am in law school and don't have a yard and have guinea pigs ... all the things we used as excuses for so long ... and they looked at us and said "umm ... yeah? so?". They asked how much exercise she would get and when we told them we were runners, they practically beamed. For an hour we went back and forth about whether we were ready for this ... and then they made an offer we couldn't refuse.

We NEVER do this, but we just have such a good feeling about you guys and you seem to have such a good connection with her ... why don't you take her tonight and talk about it and just see how she fits in at your place ... see how she reacts to the guinea pigs ... talk about it ... and then we'll come out and do the home check tomorrow and see how things are going ...

And just like that, Miss Madison entered our lives.

I could go on and on about her. And I'm sure I will. Suffice to say, she has proven to be everything we had hoped for. She is very very mellow for a lab and has yet to cause any problems in the apartment. She is quiet and calm and very well behaved. She is the most affectionate dog I have ever met (and I have met a LOT of dogs!) and will lay with her head in your lap for hours. She sleeps in bed snuggled in between Josh and I and snores all night. She loves going for walks and is showing promise as a running companion.

She has already made five trips downtown where she has been extraordinarily well-behaved. She has gotten along with every dog and person she has met. And everyone she meets completely adores her.

We've only had her for four days and I already have tons of stories to tell ... expect MUCH more blogging in the future!

And now, I play with my dog!

Posted by gator at September 20, 2005 6:11 PM