When I was growing up, I wasn't allowed to have pets.  They told me then that it was against our building's rules.  But as I got older, I realized that it wasn't the landlord's rules but my mom's rule.

I always wanted a pet.  My cousins had a gerbil, a dog, a hermit crab, a fish.  I had Henry and my own imagination.

But now I realize why my mother didn't want the responsibility of a pet.

Hubby had pets all throughout his childhood; cats mostly but a dog here and there too.  So, when we got married and bought our first house, we also bought our first dog, Toby.

Toby was a 40 lbs. dog when we got him at 12 weeks of age.  Toby was a Great Dane and he grew to his full size of 240 lbs. pretty quickly.  Going from never having owned a pet to being responsible for a 240 lbs. mass of strong teeth and fur was definitely a big change for me.  But, we both loved Toby and he knew we did.  We didn't have kids then so he was like a child to us.  We took him to training classes, on excursions around town, to pet shows, and on trips.  He was like our very own mascot.

But he was also very lonely.  Hubby and I both worked 40 hour weeks and Toby spent a lot of time at home, alone.  It wasn't long before he destroyed everything.  So, as God gave Adam a mate, we too gave Toby a mate; Lily.  Lily was also a Great Dane.  120 lbs. of pure joy and love.  She was sweet and loving, but stubborn as can be.


It wasn't long before they became best friends.  Toby and Lily each lived to be nine years old; which is a good, ripe age for a Great Dane.  After Lily passed away, I was heart broken but I was also very relieved.  I loved being animal free.  I no longer had to worry about buying dog food or about vet bills. I didn't have to walk her or bathe her.  And the nooks and crannies of the house were finally dog-hair free.

As happy as I was without an animal in the house, my husband and I knew that our kids needed to grow up around animals.  BG is an innate animal lover.  She was also starting to show fear around other people's dogs at that time.  I wasn't going to have any of that.  But, I was determined to stave it off as long as possible.  So we waited.   And waited.  But then, my mother passed away; leaving a huge hole in our hearts.  Hubby took this opportunity and ran with it.  Within the month, he adopted a BloodHound and drove across three states lines to pick him up.  I was too heart broken to care.

It was difficult for me to re-adjust to having an animal again.  And Super Dog was not without problems.  He had trust issues and was very reluctant to bond with us.

It has been over a year now since Super Dog came into our lives and I am happy to say that he has finally bonded with us.  He is a sweet dog.  Yes, he's mischievous and has eaten one too many of the kid's toys.  But he tries to be gentle with them and I can happily say that he is a good addition to our family.




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