Way back when we moved into Village Green in Omaha we would see the people who either ethically or unethically had dogs there. I grew up with inside dogs and outside dogs. I loved them, and I wanted them for my kids. Luckily, I know I would have hated having a dog there. But, my sweet boy made me a promise at that time. He told me that when we got to residency, we could have one, and this was a big promise coming from him!
Once we moved to Ohio, I really didn't have a huge desire to hold him to that promise. The first day I was in our new house I noticed an awful odor. As it turns out, the previous owners had two large and one small dog that were left home alone, all day, everyday, and those dogs very much had claimed their territory. We had to tear up the carpet (which revealed just how heavily those dogs had peed in the house) seal the floors, and drop a couple grand to replace the carpet. Even today we are repainting, and make other touch ups to undo the damage of that trio of dogs. I didn't want my home to be "a dog house."
When we moved here we also discovered a dog store in the mall with small cubicles where we could take the kiddos to play with puppies. It was perfect. Play with them there, and leave them there. Last month on Chads last day of his week vacation we finally got our promised visit to Fetch (the dog store) in. This adorable little peach eared fluff ball was in the front window. As it turns out, we was cuddly and playful, and Chad (yes it was Chad) fell in love. He asked a million questions and found that the puppy fit all of the criterion we had. There was also a spring sale, and got then to commit to throw in a dog kennel. We took a walk to talk it over, and I was the one that said no. We went out to dinner and Chad asked me to reconsider. I realized that if I didn't say yes now, I may never have the chance to. 
And so it was that we first went and purchased a collar, leash, and carpet cleaner (which by the way, had been on the list for some time, especially when we had a kid sick). Then we went back to fetch and picked up our new puppy! He became Chad's birthday present!
In the last month we have spent a lot of time researching dog training tips and trick on the internet. We also had to spend quite a bit of time on the internet finding him a name. Chad finally settled on Hobbs (yes, as in Calvin & Hobbs). We also have and continue to spend all kids of time trying to train our children to own a puppy.
