On the one hand…

I have a dilemma. Frankly, if you have to have a dilemma, this would be the one to have. As it turns out, the process for applying to rescue a dog didn’t take as long as we thought. Most sites say to expect a 5-6 week waiting period to even be contacted after submitting an application. Both places we wrote to got back to us the next day. We have had our phone interview and home visit from one place… An email approval from the other. One place has a Golden Retriever puppy available for us, the other has a one year old Golden/Lab mix. I am torn. On the one hand, having a puppy would be really hard work, but would give the children a fun bonding experience that they might not have with an older puppy. They would pay more attention to him because he is little. On the other hand, having a one year old that is potentially house broken is a huge plus. We would still work with the kids to take care of him and love him.

We brought Rusty home about seven months before our first baby was born. So, he was always around and just a normal part of their world. They didn’t ignore him, but they didn’t pay too much attention to him either. He was always just a side kick of sorts.

Here is the puppy:

Here is Eric, the one year old. I think we would re-name him!

On another note, what do you buy a girl who is going to turn 9? She is my builder, so I bought Creationary, the lego game. She is an artist, so I bought her a few small crafty things to decorate. That is it. I am stumped! I am thinking of getting a large bean bag for the basement. Do I really have a 9 year old?

This is the almost 9 year old at 4 months old with Rusty at almost one years old.