Dogs

There is something about having property that makes you a target for people dumping pets and giving them to you.  Once we moved into our current home, it seemed like everyone wanted to gift us with unwanted and unruly pets.  Our next acquisition after Casey the collie was Chester.  Chester is a big dumb loveable mutt with tons of long black fur.  We got him as a puppy and he has been an outside dog from the start.  The story for him is in how we got him.

"Mini Me" and "The Blonde" were old enough to transport themselves to cross country practice.  As each child earned his or her driver's license, it was a little nerve wracking but also a relief.  It was just a little less running around for me in an already hectic household.  So, it was summer and they went to practice for the morning.  Lo and behold, when the arrived back home they had a cute little puppy with them that they did not have with them when they left.

Of course, the pleading faces started immediately along with how he managed to be in the car with them.  According to these two beautiful girls, they rescued him from the side of the road.  "He was just lost on the side of the road, and we stopped at every house in the area to see if he belonged to anyone and we just couldn't find his owner.  Can we keep him?"

Believe it or not, I am not stupid.  This fish story sounded, well....fishy.  I agreed to let him stay temporarily while we looked for his owner and of course the girls promised that they would do everything for him and that he would not be a burden.  NEVER believe that line!  And did I mention that he was "so cute!!"

Guilt is a good thing to instill in your children to a reasonable degree.  Each one however, absorbs a different ability to feel that emotion.  "Mini Me" at that time had no sense of guilt whatsoever.  "The Blonde" was overwhelmed with it and she cracked.  It was only a day or so until she confessed.  They hadn't really found the dog on the side of the road, there was someone in a van in the high school parking lot giving puppies away.  Well, he was ours.  I didn't have the heart to take him to a pound and had no clue where he actually came from.  He is a pretty good dog.  He loves being outside and stays out of trouble, more than the kids do. 

Just so you know, there are three more dogs to meet!