To Be or Not To Be ...

About a month ago, on a whim, we decided to stop by the Humane Society. I fell in love with one dog, but alas, the time was not right. We left without a new family member, K crying and talking about it for at least the next few weeks. The white dog, we referred to her as fondly together.

So, needless to say, the conversation of getting a dog has been a frequent one in the house. Earlier this week, I went to visit a friend who just had a baby. I had O with me. She had a lovely little terrier and O and the dog bonded instantly. Many hugs and kisses ensued. I just know my boys need a doggie.

After running a few errands today, you can imagine my surprise when D suggested we stop by the Humane Society today. (You see, in the conversation, he's been the one who's most resistant.) So, I agreed. Apparently about 50 other people had the same idea. I have never seen the parking lot so full. We went to go visit the dogs ... and there were a lot of them ... and the heat of the day had made the muggy air full of a pungent, stale odor. K immediately wanted to leave, he couldn't handle the smell. He plugged his nose and kept pleading to leave, we dragged him around. But alas, he couldn't bare it. So we walked back to the car ...

Only to turnaround and go back in ... because D started waxing about the chocolate lab puppies (they had six of them.) So, yes, we walked back in and spent another good hour talking to the various dogs, testing temperaments ... However, every time I would think that I had found a dog I had a connection with, suddenly a volunteer would tag an "I am on hold"  tag and I knew the dog was going to its forever home soon, and it was not our home.  In the end, we were thisclose to leaving with a dog. But our family of four, remains a family of four. There just wasn't the same magic spark that I had with the "white dog" (okay, not true, there was one dog that had the spark, but it was going to his forever home with two lovely little girls.)

So, the ultimate question ... will we get a dog? What's the right frequency to go and visit the Humane Society? Or do we look at other options? Is a dog the right thing for the family? So many questions ... you'll have to wait to find out the answer.