Meet Bailey.
Bailey is our first baby. We think she's a chihuahua terrier mix, but we don't really know. A co-worker of mine found her wandering around our school parking lot back in January of '06. He quickly found out that his dog did not get along with this new dog, so Brad and I decided to take her home for a weekend, and she never left. Bailey is a sweet diva doggy. She definitely thinks she's the boss of the house, but unfortunately (or fortunately-- depending on how you see it) she has 2 other dogs who also demand a lot of attention. Bailey's favorite place to be is between you and your skin or buried far underneath the blankets on our bed. She will also let you know when it's time to eat by literally kicking her food dish across the floor or nudging the water dish with her nose until you get a clue. :)
This is Copper.
Copper is our sweet beagle boy. He's actually a hound dog mix, but he looks most like a beagle, so that's how we think of him. My friend's husband found him wandering around a Lowe's parking lot in '07. Apparently we take in dogs that wander around parking lots?? My friend and her husband kept Copper for a few months, but they had 3 dogs already and a baby on the way. At the time, Copper was a bit of a "digger" and he'd dug himself and the other 3 dogs out of their yard one too many times. The last time left my friend about 7 months pregnant wandering the streets late at night trying to track down the dogs. They really didn't want to give him up, so before they started exploring their options, they offered him to us. Once again, we said we'd take him home for a few days, and once again, a dog made us his permanent humans.
After a few digging incidents in OUR yard, Copper settled in, and I'm happy to say, he is a reformed escape artist. However, he does like to wheel and deal for the best possible treat before he will come in from outside most days.
And finally, meet Brandy.
Brandy is our shelter dog. The local shelter had a huge adoption drive last year when someone donated $10,000. They were literally giving animals away. We (ok *I*) saw it as a sign that we should just "go look". Of course, any of you who have pets know that you never just "go look" at an animal shelter, and so after an organized "meet n' greet" with Bailey and Copper, we took home our 3rd fur baby, Brandy the beagle and jack russell terrier mix. Her personality is exactly what you would think it is considering her doggy lineage. She is a ball of energy. I like to say that she's still just a puppy, but that excuse wears thin sometimes ha! Brandy likes to be wherever Bailey is, but most of all, she likes to be wedged between me and Brad in bed with her head on one of our pillows.
We've been asked by some what we're going to "do" with our dogs once baby arrives, and the answer is the same thing with do with them now. I'm sure some of our routines will have to change, but the bottom line is that they are members of our family, and they will remain that way. For someone who grew up without pets, I find it really hard to imagine our life without these 3 sweet furry babies.
I <3 your furbabies! So cute.
ReplyDeleteAnd I loathe the "what are you going to do with your pets?" question. It makes no sense to me. I grew up with dogs from the time I was BORN and cats from about age 11. I can't imagine not having had any one of them in my life.
Your dogs are so adorable! I hope I'll be able to meet them someday :)
ReplyDeleteJolene, right now Brad and I are in a bit of a "conflict" (let's call it that) with his parents over the dogs. I've told him that he probably needs to get it settled, and I don't need to hear about it again (Today was the 4th time it's come up). They're coming from a place of love, but it's so frustrating that they think our dogs are going to kill the baby. (Yes, they've said that. *Sigh*)
ReplyDeleteMissie, I hope you will, too!!
I can't stand when people ask what we are going to do with our pets.
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