Must Love Dogs: Meet Our Adopted Yorkie
How To Lose Your Anti-Dog-ness In 5 Days…
Day 1: Call Your Mother.
“Hi Mom! What do the kids want for Christmas? Well, Fletch asked for a dog. A real one—not a stuffy, robot, or toy. I told him to ask Santa for something else, forget about it because we are NEVER getting a dog. Nope. No way.”
Maybe I should look into it...
Day 2 and 3: Commence Research
Hundreds of ADORABLE Puppy Faces Later:
Omg omg omg, I can’t even with all the cuteness?!!
I am gonna DIE if we don’t have a puppy! Maybe if we save for a couple years…
Day 4: Mess with Your Mom.
“We’re just looking… You’re right, Mom, dogs are a lot of work—we would all help because it would be the family dog. Yep, allergies; this one is hypoallergenic, though! No, we don’t have a fence yet and aren’t sure where to even put a dog yet. I know it’s a while until Christmas, can we bring a dog with us if we end up getting one? It’s an indoor dog, and small… Of course, we’re not even sure if it will happen, haha!”
Day 5: Go to the Park.
OMG, we’re on the way to the park to meet the Owner. Are we really doing this???
Forever After:
We are SO in **LOVE**!!!
Our Journey to Becoming Dog People
Let’s just establish now that I’m a walking contradiction, and although I prefer the idea of a pet dog, the reality seemed a lot less appealing based on the snippets of life from actual dog owners. The expense. The destruction. So much hair! All the poop, mess, and smells. The heart-wrenching grief at losing someone that actually loved you back unconditionally. It seemed so familiar to raising my own children, I thought I could open my heart and take a chance. My husband jumped at the chance, and as soon as he anticipated the words, “We can just think about getting a dog,” leaving my lips he was already on KSL looking for a dog.
The main reason I flipped a 180 on the whole dog issue? My sweet, tender son told me daily a new dream about having a real dog. (That, and my husband had been grooming me for months with discussions at the family dinner table he’d lead with, “So kids, what kind of pet should we get?” or “What color should our dog be, kids?”) My son would tell me when he woke up how he dreamed of walking his dog, when he left for school in the morning he told me about playing with his dog, he’d ask me when I pick him up from school if we could write to Santa about bringing his dog. Could you kill that dream? Yeah, me neither. I couldn’t deny this adventurous, caring, dog-loving boy a childhood filled with happy memories of “his dog”.
Funny thing, we had talked (joked) so much about getting a dog that when it actually happened they didn’t believe us… Also, turns out the dog loves me (the previously anti-dog-in-my-house-girl) best! I didn’t like the idea of becoming a dog person. And then I became one, and my husband became one, and we looked at each other wondering how a little pup stole our hearts and turned us into mush with her big brown eyes.
“Oh, she’s friendly!” we heard ourselves say to strangers we encountered on the sidewalk. We noticed that none of us can stop talking with everyone about how awesome our dog is, hahaha! We tried preparing several sleeping spots to see which one could be “the one”. I found myself shopping for little dog sweaters and snow boots, buying shampoo and conditioner that was more expensive than my shampoo and conditioner. Everyone was so excited to come home so they could be welcomed by our dog. Jer came home early because, “My baby needs me!” (More like he couldn’t wait to give her belly rubs and try to teach her Fetch again.) We’ve definitely gotten out more each day (at least 2 or 3 times) for a walk; I never used to leave my house this much! Life certainly has changed with our furry little friend.
Why We Adopted a Dog Instead of Buying a Puppy
As first time dog owners, we wanted to make sure we could take good care of a dog we welcomed to our home. The lower maintenance for me, the better! We figured out we wanted a Yorkshire terrier (Yorkie), known for a playful temperament that should work with a young family. Yorkies have hair rather than a double coat of fur, so it’s a good dog for those with allergies, and they are a small breed indoor dog perfect for our home that doesn’t have a giant fenced yard. No luck finding anything similar at our local shelters in the nearest 3 counties.
- Cost: Yorkie puppies were upwards of $2,000?! It seemed that the tinier the dog, the more expensive and in demand. One listing caught my eye: “Giant Yorkie”. The price caught my husband’s eye at only $100. We could afford that!
- Health: She had reputable papers saying she was a pure-bred Yorkie! Yorkies have been bred in recent years to be smaller; even though our dog was a “giant Yorkie” (almost twice the listed max weight for the breed), she was actually closer to the original “throwback” size of what a Yorkie naturally is and would likely have less health concerns.
- Established: At 2 years old, she was past the demands and needs of a brand new puppy, she was already potty trained and her owner could already tell us about her habits and personality. Knowing what to expect helped me! Her personality was very similar to my youngest child, so I felt like I could appreciate it.
- Trainability: She was still young enough to like younger kids or at least get used to them, and we could work with training her on any other rules of the house.
- Fit Our Personality: Her previous owner said she was super attached to her humans, that she needed more attention, and should be the only dog. We are also super attached kind of people, with intentions of having just one dog, and a focus on quality time. She would fit right into our family!
- Fit Our Lifestyle: Her substantial size meant that she would also enjoy and handle hiking and walking with us, yet she was still small enough to fit in our laps and not get into too much destruction. She’s not a super hyper dog, either, so we like to retreat to our own spaces every once in a while for quiet time alone—and she seems to work with that.
- It Felt Right: Everything fell into place really quickly. Turns out a lot of other people were interested in the Giant Yorkie, but I got to talk with the Owner first! We definitely prayed about it as a family before going to meet her for the first time, and that helped me get over my fears and anxieties about the possibility of big change.
Our Roxy came from a loving home before becoming a Lloyd! This did mean changes for her—like how she is not allowed to sleep in our bed or be on the couch (something she greatly enjoyed in her old home). We’re trying to train her to sleep in her own bed and find other places to lounge instead of the furniture. Based on how she crashes full-on snoring after her walks, I’m guessing she’s also not used to this much activity, haha!
About Roxy
I have loved getting to know this sweet dog these past few days. She’s such a well behaved and loyal dog! Even as she’s definitely mourned leaving her previous owner and getting used to a new home, she has been so open and accepting. There’s no barking when people come over to repair the dishwasher line, but she definitely expects a belly rub or scratch or affection from us! There’s no begging at the table or any destructive behavior, but she definitely pushes the boundaries of trying to lay on the bed or the couch when we’re also tired and almost give in.
All she wants to do is be with us, and she will follow me from room to room (including the bathroom), up and down the stairs just to be near. The only time she sleeps is when I’m either in her direct view or if she’s laying right next to me. Her favorite spot is the air vent right after walks because it’s cold relief from the hard work she’s done. She’s afraid of the dark a little bit, and won’t venture in dark areas on walks. She is so affectionate, and we don’t mind giving her all the pets/hugs/belly rubs/massages she wants when she comes by! W’s favorite thing is for Roxy to lick his little feet and laugh his head off because it tickles so much. We are so happy to love our little Roxy girl!
