Apparently it’s time for a dog

I grew up with dogs, but always thought of myself as more of a cat person. Brian is more extreme. He’s told almost everyone we know for as long as I’ve known him that he doesn’t like dogs. Eloise, unlike her parents, doesn’t discriminate — she seems to like all furry animals. Whether they bark or jump or bite or run away. She doesn’t mind.

The problem, of course, is that they don’t all like her. Like our cat. 😅

But watching her desperately trying to touch and hug any animal that comes into her circle has made us realize it’s time to put aside our own prejudices and put on our big kid pants.

So we did.

Just this morning an incredibly talented dog whisperer came to our home to start the process. Which means we start the hunt for a puppy. The right puppy.

I’d been hoping somewhere that an adult stray from the animal shelter would work for us. But for a therapy dog, it seems purebred and from a puppy is the best for Eloise.

Sigh.

Looks like we’ll be getting trained ourselves on how to raise it for the next two years so it will, eventually, be the best companion for Eloise and our family.

It‘s definitely going to be a lot of work. But it’s clear that a dog lights up parts of this kid’s brain that no therapy ever will.

Besides, as an added bonus, did you know you can teach nearly any regular dog to detect COVID-19 before even tests can? This seems useful.

So. Well. Wish us luck. It’s going to be a busy two years once this fellow helps us find exactly the right puppy.

Go ahead and pray for us. 🤣

And if you have any connections to breeders in Estonia that have King Cavaliers, Labradoodles, or Golden Doodles, let us know.