Yo Dawg!

My children have been begging to get a dog for years. At first I told them we could get a dog when they were 25 years old. That quit the begging for a while. When it started up again I told them we could get a dog when they were perfect at doing all of their jobs.... when they showed me that they were responsible.

Well

I am not even perfect at all of my jobs.

Slowly, Jeff and I are softening.

Maybe it's because Kaden is getting older and Jeff thinks that all boys should have a dog.

Maybe it's because we both grew up in dog families.

Maybe we're just getting older and the battle isn't worth it.

Maybe my desire to have lots of children is going to have to be filled with pets.

Who knows...

I don't even know what I know anymore.

So, when I received the e-mail from a new couple in our ward asking if there was a family who could watch their 4 year old Vizsla for 11 days I offered.

I had no idea what a Vizsla was and I had no idea that Jeff would be out of town for the majority of the time, but I announced to the children, "this will be your chance to show me that you can handle having a dog."

Why not?!

As soon as Tobby arrived we fell in loved. I think I fell the hardest.

We had no idea how madly we would fall in love with this dog.

Here are some happy moments with Tobby.

As we researched a bit about Vizsla dogs we learned that their nickname is "Velcro" because they are so loyal. They love to be close to people. They love children. They like to be as close physically to people as they can get. This proved to be true as we were watching a family movie and Tobby jumped right up on Jeff's lap. He's not a lap dog, but he thinks he is. He's a snuggler.

Velcro decided to attach himself as I was practicing the piano. Tobby jumped right up on my lap while I was playing.

We enjoyed a family snuggle time in Kaden's bed on Sunday morning. Guess who joined in the family time? Velcro.

As soon as Tobby arrived we thought he looked exactly like Old Dan and Little Ann from the book, "Where the Red Fern Grows." We actually had just finished reading that book and watched the movie the week before Tobby came. He actually isn't the same breed as those dogs, but he is a hunting dog like they are. Oh boy is he a hunting dog. He loved our backyard with the squirrels and bunnies. When we took him for walks he took US for a walk. Ady took him for a walk on one of the first days and had no idea that she would land flat on her face as she tried to hold onto Tobby's leash as he chased a cat. Maryn couldn't hold onto him when they went to the park as he chased bunny. We took him for a walk together as a family on our last day together. We let him go in this big open field and Tobby ran and ran faster than I have ever seen an animal run. He chased a silly bird. He is so strong. He doesn't bark or get uptight when passing other dogs. He's confident in who he is. He just has that hunting instinct in him.

So... yes, he needs a little training in learning how to walk next to the person giving him a walk. But other than that, he is gentle and so loving.

I loved having Tobby around because I had the best, fastest and longest walks that I normally would have. One morning I woke up so with the sorest buttocks. I couldn't figure out why until I realized that it was from taking Tobby on walks. He provided me the resistance I needed to get a really fast, good work out.

A few days before Tobby was going to leave us we all kept getting sad saying, "what are we going to do without Tobby?" It really was so sad to have him leave us. He became part of the family. He whined and barked out the car window at the kids as I dropped them off to school. He went crazy when they came home from school. Kaden loved having a playmate to throw the ball with. He was a blast. He was really easy. He was so fun and brought out something in the kids that showed caring, service and responsibility.

I'd have to say that I think we're ready for a dog!!!

However,

We'll have to wait a while still so we can save up for a Vizsla dog because they aren't cheap, but we have decided as a family that they definitely are worth it!!!