Megan has been asking for a dog for months and months and months. We told her that she couldn't have one because a dog is a lot of responsibility and the kids needed to learn to clean up their toys better and help out around the house more. She took us at our word and has worked and worked to do all her chores and help us any way she can. Nearly every day she would ask us if she was doing good enough to get a dog yet. We finally decided it wasn't fair not to reward her work, so we started searching for the perfect dog. There were several that didn't pan out, but yesterday I found a dog online that seemed to fit what we were looking for. This morning Brittney came over very early and Rob and I took off for our 90 min drive to check him out (we didn't tell the kids where we were going). It was "cautious optimism" (as Rob put it) at first sight! Simon is a Catahoula Leopard Dog/German Shepard mix. For those of you who like us had never heard of Catahoula Leopard dogs, they are hunting dogs that originated in Louisiana. They are very smart and often used in law enforcement or as herders or hunting dogs. They are laid back, but friendly. Simon is on the smaller side - he was born in Feb and weighs about 20 lbs now. When we walked into the vet office where he was being boarded (he was rescued by a pair of women who do private rescues from high kill shelters), all the other dogs got very excited and barked and barked. Simon wriggled and was very happy to meet us, but stayed pretty calm. He doesn't jump on people and he is an amazingly laid back puppy, but he loves to play. He is already 100% housebroken (the first thing the receptionist said when we told her who we had come to meet is "oh, he's such a sweet dog - and amazingly potty-trained!" which was music to my ears), neutered and has all the shots he needs until he turns one. He also came with a microchip. We loaded him in the car, where he slowly wormed his little head and paws forward until they were resting on Rob's lap, and drove him home.
The kids were thrilled! The cats were not. Simon just ignores the cats though, so I'm sure they'll get used to him soon. He is so gentle with the kids, but rolls and rolls in the grass. You can almost see him laughing as he enjoys playing and not having to be in a cage. His mother was brought to a pound with him and his brother when he was tiny, so he's never had a home - just cages in shelters or the vet's office he was boarded in. It seems to be going really, really well (but on the off chance it doesn't, the lady we got him from will take him back).
Officially Simon is Megan's birthday present and so after we got home, Brittney and I took Megan to Walmart to get his tag made (he came with the name Simon - we debated changing it, but it seems to fit him) and buy him toys and treats. Did you know they make organic dog treats??? We were very excited :)
Rather than spending tons of money, we found a used crate on craigslist and Megan helped pay for it with the money she got for her birthday from Grandma and Grandpa Knowlton. We have my brother's dog's old water bowls and leash, so it was fairly inexpensive to get started :) Megan has decided she is sleeping on the floor next to his crate (we are crating him at night for the first few weeks).
The kids are enjoying the crate as well ~
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