Dodger Dog

Today I went and saw Marley & Me. I have to say I related to that movie so much and highly recommend it. After the movie I got to thinking about our family dog and what an important role he has played in our life. After we got married I remember having a conversation with Bobby about taking the next step in our marriage. He was like, "OK, what?" The story has been told serveral times, but just in case you are new to it, I will tell it again.

I said, "Well, we can go with a house, a baby or a dog."

Bobby's reply, "Let's go with the dog since it seems like the least amount of responsibility."

Cool!! I was satisfied with our decision. But a month after getting Dodger we were pregnant and within four months of getting pregnant we bought our first home. Bobby had remebered the conversation we had and said, "How do you do that?"

I said,"What?"

"Get everything you wanted off your list! I agreed to the dog to hold us over and you got all three!"

Of course, I do get mostly what I want, but I have to admit I hadn't really planned on everything in one year. It was just in the cards. So back to Dodger...

We were on a hunt for a dog. Well, I was probably more enthusiastic than Bobby, so I was on a hunt for a dog. At the time we lived in a townhouse, so we were limited to little breeds. I had my eyes set on some sort of terrier. I visited the pet store and the sales person knew her stuff. She said "Why don't you play with the dog first, because they have different temperments and sometimes it isn't a fit." Best advice. I got the little terrier, that was cute enough, but I really wasn't feeling it. She started chewing a stand in the store and farted!! EEWWW! Not liking this one. The pet store lady recommend I play with this dog that was older than the other puppies, but really sweet. I asked what kind of dog it was and she said poodle. I didn't think my husband would be thrilled with owning a poodle but as soon as I saw him, I was sold.

I got him down to play and he did the cutest thing. He picked up my car keys with his mouth and headed for the door. My heart melted. Now I just had to convince Bobby. Luckily I live with the most easy going guy and he agreed to meet him. We bought him that night under the terms that we did not name him "Fifi." Bobby named him Dodger, after his favorite team and we had a dog!!

He was our little baby. We went through hell and back that first year with him. He was sick three times and got hit by a car and broke his hip! Hopefully this was not a precursor to what kind of parents we would be to children. We spoiled him, took him EVERYWHERE with us.

When it was time for our first baby to be born everyone warned us that he would be jealous and to watch him around the baby. Somehow I knew it would all be alright. He was too sweet of a dog to be mean. I felt a little sad for him because I knew the hierachy in our house was about to change. We brought Bryce home from the hospital and set him on the bed to introduce the two. It was so cute! Dodger just layed down next to him and put his head down by the baby's. The same thing happened when we brought our second baby home.

Over the years, Dodger has been such a great dog. Sure he has his annoying habits. He barks whenever someone comes to the door, he goes potty in the house whenever we leave him overnight because he is mad, and he snatches the kids' food any chance he gets, but he is the BEST dog we can ask for. He hears the kids wake up before we hear them and alerts us. He makes piles of my dirty clothes in his bed and cuddles them. He lays by my side every night on the couch long after the kids have gone to bed.

He is seriously part of our family, so I thought I'd dedicate a blog to him, since all the others are about our kids. Go see Marley & Me...it may just make you a dog lover (Katie)!