Doggies: the best animals in the whole wide world!

I never take naps.  If I try to take one I usually wake up with a headache and feel nauseous so I try to not take them since they don't seem to do me any good.  However, with a late bedtime last night (2am) and much tossing and turning since I was so excited for today to get here, I took one this rainy Saturday morning.  I had been really excited when going to bed last night because Adam and I had made an appointment to go look at a puppy about an hour away from here today.  It felt like Christmas Eve as a kid when you're too excited to sleep well and you wake up way before dawn anxiously awaiting for the time that the rest of the family awakens so gifts can be opened.  Not much sleep was to be had last night and I was up at 7am ready to go!

However, there was a mix-up in the appointment and long story short we had to push it back to Sunday.  With the rain falling pretty hard outside during the dreary gray morning, the exhaustion and little bit of a letdown disappointment caught up to me and I crawled back into bed...where Dusty Shamrock joined me.  He's such a little cuddlebug and always wants to be near people.  I'm glad he's such a social little guy!  So he and I took a sweet little nap since nothing else was going on this morning and I wanted to procrastinate on the schoolwork I should be doing today in light of today's changed plans...ha!  When I awoke, little Dusty was tucked in the crook of my arm with his tongue sticking out of his mouth a teeny bit like always happens when he's super comfortable.  A few minutes later he bounded out of bed full of energy and playing with his green football toy as I got out of bed to join Adam in the home office.

So another day is going by with Dusty Shamrock being an only doggie baby in this house.  I have spent countless hours surfing the web trying to avoid puppy mills and finding a pup within our budget and my allergy restrictions.  Adam and I have already been to two shelters in our area with no luck and I reached out to the family from whom I bought Dusty back in April 2007 but they don't have any pups at the moment.  Fingers crossed that tomorrow works out but if not, then I will accept this difficulty in finding a puppy sibling for Dusty as a sign that now is not the right time even though we feel it is.  I can't help but think back 8 years ago to how quickly and effortlessly it was when I found Dusty Shamrock but then again nothing worth having comes easily right?  We have the means, the space, love to give, and desire to raise a puppy together.  I would love to do this with Adam by picking out a puppy together, bringing it home, getting it situated in our home, sharing our love for Dusty with the new pup, and seeing the bond they will hopefully form as sibling pups in our little growing family.  However, God knows what is best and I will trust in Him and if now is not the time even though we *think* it is, this will be practice in obeying Him.

Last night, I had a fleeting thought wondering if Dusty would be jealous not being the only pup in the house, should this change occur.  Would he miss being the only dog?  Would he feel replaced or left out at all?  Would I have the time, love, and attention to give to both or would I favor Dusty, my original fur baby, or would I favor the new pup?  Would I grow impatient with the new pup who would not be as mature as Dusty?  I wondered if this thinking was similar to what new parents go through when expecting their second child compared to their firstborns?  Of course I'm not saying fur babies are the same as human babies but the love and bond felt by the parents is very similar if you ask me!  Then I realized, much like God's love for us, for each and every single one of all of the millions and millions of us people on this planet, He loves us beyond measure and uniquely.  There is no one other person like each one of us.  We are all uniquely and wonderfully made and are God's creations in whom He delights and loves with all His heart.  The same is true for parents.  It's not like a parent doles out or rations out his or her love for each child saying, "Ok, you get 1 cup of my love, you get 3/4 cup of my love, and you get what's left at 1/4 cup." No, no, it doesn't work that way!  I believe that the more you give the more you receive and it all repeats itself in an endless circle or cycle of love...so if we do end up with two pups, I will love both just the same and not have a favorite or prefer one over the other.  Each will be wonderfully delightful and beautiful in its own way and I can't wait to see the personality of the new pup emerge should we blessed with a new dog tomorrow or at some point in the future!

Dusty doesn't discriminate whom he takes naps with...this is from Father's Day last weekend..haha!  In Adam's defense, by this point in the day he had already mowed the (hilly) grass and pulled weeds in extreme heat.  He is doing such a wonderful job of taking care of the outside aspects of our house/yard and I'm glad he has the energy/stamina for it!

SUCH a cuddlebug!

King of the Hill!