en in Houston. I picked up my new 7 week old puppy on a Friday night after work... and little did I know what challenges (and rewards) soon awaited me.The next few months consisted of MANY 3am trips down my 3rd story apartment building for potty training and many other "fun" puppy demands. And, after I had "tamed" the pup in Tomi, I swore I would not get another puppy for a VERY LONG TIME... famous last words!
* Disclaimer: Despite all the annoyances of having a puppy, Tomi is my pride and joy, and I would not take back that experience for anything!
Several years later, I happened upon another young pup: Miss Sadie. Only a few months o
ld when we first met, she stole my heart from the getgo. However, Sadie belonged to another family, at the time. And for about 6 months or so, we were just play pals. After work, I would visit her to make sure she was properly fed and watered and entertained - and then I would be on my way. She was always so welcoming of my visits and craved so desperately some attention that she wasn't receiving from her family at the time. On cold and rainy nights, I would always worry about her, as she was an outside dog with little to no shelter from the elements. In the end, I offered to adopt Sadie and give her the loving home that she so desired. Lucky for me, I can now proudly say that my little girl is EXACTLY where she belongs!Fo
r a year and a half, all was well with this little family of four, until Easter day 2009... Shawn & I were at the grocery store picking up some things for a backyard BBQ we were about to attend. As we were getting in our car, an SUV approached us asking if we wanted a puppy. We kindly explained to them that we already had 2 dogs at home and would gladly help them find a good home for this little guy, who was the last little pup of his litter. Several days later, the owners contacted us saying that he still needed a forever home. Being the canine-loving pushovers that Shawn & I are, we agreed to pick up the puppy at the end of the week, just to make sure he was placed in a good home. By the time he was in our arms and on the way to our house that night, we were already coming up with names for him... what suckers we are for a sweet face and puppy breath! One week and several names later, the little guy became who we now refer to as Mr. Jax.In all the potty/crate training mess and sleepless nights from caring for a puppy, I kept finding myself saying to Shawn "what in the world did we do??"... However, afte
r the second weekend with Jax in our home, I received the answer to my own question. All of the crate training and yucky puppy messes and middle-of-the-night potty breaks made me realize that Jax was "forcing" Shawn & I to come together as a team to work towards the same cause - caring for a little being who could not care for himself. And then it dawned on me... we have been talking very seriously lately about starting a family soon and here we were practically preparing ourselves to be parents - or as close as you can get to practice having a baby in the house, without all the bottles and diapers and such. I am a firm believer in the old cliche that EVERYTHING happens for a reason. I truly believe that Jax came into our lives to help mentally and physically prepare us for what parenthood would eventually bring, so we won't quite be so shell-shocked when the real thing happens. How crazy to think that a little puppy might be God's way of preparing us for our next phase of life!(* Disclaimer #2: We do not have any "news" of parenthood to share at this point in time... but stay tuned!)
