Merry Christmas!

I'm just about positive we can't top last year's Christmas gift for these girls of ours, but we expect a merry holiday anyway. Clover, the Christmas chihuahua, turned out to be the BEST dog for our family! I'm so glad the Alternative Humane Society staff saw fit to place her with us, despite (or perhaps because of) our bustling, big family. 

To say I was surprised to be given a chance at Clover is an understatement. After all, walking in to the adoptathon on Dec. 17 and saying I had 1) preschoolers, 2) a history of giving up my last two dogs because they had been poor fits for my family, 3) no small-dog experience, and 4) every intention of presenting the pup as a Christmas present, I was expecting to spend some time convincing staff that I actually hadn't lost my mind. Instead, they handed me a wiggling black pup (she was about 10 months old at the time) and said, "you want this one."  

"I have three little girls. The youngest is three. Are you sure?"  I really had a hard time believing they were going to entrust this darling, fragile puppy to me and my children.

"She will LOVE them," the director told me. And she does! There could not be a better dog for our family, except perhaps Paisley. He's perfect, too. 

I feel so lucky to have these two great dogs in my home right now. I haven't felt this settled with my dog family since Mirri died (December 15, 2004). My years of longing have ended.