I Am Citizen Insane

Let me stop here and point out that "I" is not quite correct, it is more "we" or more like this is totally Rob's brainchild, but I am now on board (but "we are citizen insane" is not the name of the Radiohead song so.....)

In a few weeks we will be announcing a new member of the family and I am not talking about Elinor. Rob is getting a puppy. It's not just any puppy either it is a Great Dane. I am announcing right here that we are insane because I know that getting a puppy and a baby within a few weeks of each other makes us totally off our rocker, and that is the feedback that we will most likely be getting from everyone, so it is fitting for you all to know that we know this.

Rob's obsession with getting a dog started 6-8 months ago and he has steadily brought it up more frequently. We have had a no animal policy since we were married and it's been nice. About a year ago Rob started mentioning he liked Weimeriners. So that was his first possibility until he found out they are high energy and need lots of exercise and space. He abandoned that thought, especially in light of our tiny back yard, and moved on to his second love- which are Great Danes. While these dogs are huge, they are also very nicely tempered and enjoy small spaces and relaxation. They have fairly weak hearts and so are limited in energy and actually only have a life expectancy of 7 years. Which is sad to think about, but not sad enough not to get one. I brought up an idea to get Scout a small pet before the baby so when Elinor comes, she might feel special. I was thinking hamster or even maybe a dwarf bunny. Rob started thinking puppies... He has located a litter that was born 3 weeks ago and will be ready to leave mama somewhere around Aug 25th. They are in Santaquin and while I worked a golf tournament, Rob took Scout down to see them (they were almost 2 weeks old at the time). She LOVED the puppies, handled the mama very well, but when daddy came along and wanted to play, Rob said he "scared the pee out of her... literally". The litter consists of 14 puppies! Only 3 are males, we decided before sight (and terror) we wanted a female. They have a puppy blog if you want to check them out (we are second in line for choice and think we are narrowed down to mint green (my favorite), red, and dark pink.) puppies are here. We are holding out our final choice until we can all meet them and see them as active puppies, for we are going to choose the one with the sweetest disposition and the calmest of the three.

We know it's insane, but we are sort of looking forward to the insanity! It's been just us three for so long, we can't wait to open our home up to two little girls and give them lots and lots of love. Rob is designing a table for the living room that will accommodate a tv, computer and a dog crate big enough for a Great Dane (let me tell you, that is a BIG crate) for she will be crate trained (it seems this fits Danes very well, they like the den like atmosphere), she will not be allowed on the furniture, and we have been warned to keep towels by all the doors for slobber. Rob has already looked into obedience classes that I believe we will all be attending (Scout needs to learn a little bit of power over the dog so she has a little respect). As for the puppy time, I am fairly worried about getting through that. I can't forget my brother Dave's Great Dane puppy Sundance that was bigger then Liz at like 3 months old but still an active, crazy puppy. I just don't want any of my kiddies to go splat. But, she (at least her puppy era) will not be allowed upstairs in the bedroom area (we may be putting the baby gate up early), and no furniture, so I expect to keep them safe.

AND which ever puppy we decide on, she already has the perfect name.....Lola.