Never Will I Ever

During my childhood I was a cat person. We probably had about 6 or 7 cats before I graduated from high school. After meeting my husband in college, who had a dog, I quickly became a dog person. I figured out that I really liked dogs, but not just any dog; I liked large breed dogs. The bigger the better. The thought of owning a small dog, especially a Chihuahua was incomprehensible to me and something I said I would never do.

My husband's dog, Zoe, lived with us for about 16 years. She was there as we navigated through our different life stages from being a couple, to getting married, and then having children. She passed away when the kids were in Kindergarten/Pre-K; about 6 years ago. Once she was gone we didn't really consider getting another dog. It was nice to be free and take off on adventures and vacations without having to worry about someone watching the dog.

About a year ago we contemplated the idea of bringing a pet into our home. My husband thought it would be good for the kids to have a dog to take care of. I didn't want the pet hair everywhere but agreed it would be good for the kids. To be clear, I was still very much on the fence about dealing with a dog and cleaning up after it.

With the help of a neighbor we started our search for dogs who needed a home through various rescue websites. After a few weeks we found a Maltese and scheduled an appointment to visit the foster who was keeping him. As we were getting ready to leave for our visit, the foster called to let us know she was going to keep him because he was so sweet.

Well, at that point, I was off the fence about getting a dog and knew that not only did I want a dog but I wanted a little dog. We kept up our search for the next few days and found a rescue group located about 40 minutes south of us that had a small tan and white female dog who needed a home. It just so happened that this dog was a Chihuahua.

After some discussion, my husband and I drove the 40 minutes to look at this Chihuahua. Thoughts of my "Never Will I Ever" statement kept popping into my head. After spending an hour getting acquainted and playing, we paid the adoption fees and took her home. Of course, the first thing she did when we got her out of the rescue center was to start shivering. Then it hit me, I had done exactly what I said I would never under any circumstance do... I paid money for and was the proud owner of a 9 lb Chihuahua.

Lola, who was named by our son, has become an integral part of our family. It's amazing how something so small can change so much. She is definitely what we needed in our house. Always under our feet and ready to help. She often takes charge of kitchen duty and is more than happy to help with the dishes. Less work for the dishwasher.

She has become my husband's office mate in his home office. She will spend the whole day with him making sure that his work day is stress free, while she sleeps in one of her three beds we have throughout the house. At night she is my dog. As soon as I sit down she's up in my lap even before I really get seated. If I lay down she's on my chest and in my face ready to help me take my makeup off by licking me. Yes, I think it's gross that she licks my face.