One of Those People

I have become 'one of those people'. Actually, our whole family has and we can't help it.

You all met Simon the Boxer a few weeks back. Well, things didn't work out with him and we were sad about it but not long after he was picked up by his previous owners we found Lily. She is a one year old Shepperd/Lab mix and she is quirky, goofy, beautiful.

She has huge floppy ears, one of them always flops forward, and her tongue is always hanging out of her mouth sideways. She aggressively loves her belly rubs, is a fetch-addict and begs to be chased around the yard. She is a hard core people pleaser, a chronic face licker and an attention junkie. She's a hopper, a catcher, a tugger and a huge tease.

She is afraid of the wind blowing through the curtains, the washing machine switching cycles and she can't figure out Zhu Zhu pets. She loves going for a run but she doesn't run away. She can play rough but she is gentle with the kids. She chews everything left outside but nothing left lying around inside. She sits for treats and goes to bed the first time she's told. She barks when she's happy and pouts when she's lonely. She is clever but not smart. For better or for worse, in all of her bird catching, leash tugging, tail wagging glory, Lily belongs to us. She's our dog and we're her people.

I am surprised how quickly she became a part of us, us Random Five have become The Random Five plus Dog (you thought I was going to say Random Six, but come on people, she's still just a dog!) We have become dog people. We talk to her, talk about her and can't get enough of that silly puppy face. The kids rush through their morning routine so they have a chance to play with her before school. I have reworked my mornings to make time to take her for a walk or play with her outside for a while and Mr. Awesome dug out the roller blades so he can take her for a run every evening. Our friends have even bought her 'welcome to the family' gifts!

 So, we are one of those families with a dog and an apple tree and a little garden. We have taken one more step toward assimilating into our new town ... all we're missing now is a white 4x4 pick up truck and a fifth wheel trailer!

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.
 ~Samuel Butler, Notebooks, 1912