Stella

So, we have a dog now. I have talked a lot about how much I wanted a dog (you can read this post about that). And now, we have Stella.

Stella is a puppy, about 20 lbs and 6 months old. She is some sort of Parson Russell mix, isn't prone to barking, and loves hiding under our couch when she gets tired. She was dumped in the desert around two months ago and a local rescue took her in and posted her on Petfinder.  I filled out an adoption application that night, and the next day I buckled her in the car and shakily drove home, unable to believe that we actually had a dog.

I'd been wanting a dog for more than a year, and in the month before we adopted Stella it was getting unbearable. I would fall asleep every night imagining petting a dog. I was checking books about dogs out of the library. I looked at Petfinder and Craigslist everyday, and installed an app on my phone that allowed me to easily swipe through available rescue dogs.

Dogs offer a kind of therapy for me, though it hasn't always been this way. I grew up with dogs and while I loved them, I never felt any particular affinity for them. The same goes for all the dogs Brock and I watched in Chicago from DogVacay. But when I got pregnant with Calvin and depression became my daily life, I found that I had an intense longing for a dog.

I worried constantly about whether or not it was a good idea to get a dog, because I have two little kids, a husband who works long hours, and we live in a second floor apartment with no outdoor space. But I realized one day that all of that doesn't mean I would be a bad dog owner.

Because here are some other facts: I am home all the time, am always going on long walks, and am totally willing to love and train a dog. That alone, I realized, means I could do it.

And so, we did. Stella came home with us and I have been so happy. I love how much she pushes me to get outside, and I love the way she'll lay her head in my lap while I stroke her. She's started following me from room to room and having her presence nearby is so calming. It's not all perfect (she still isn't 100% housebroken and sometimes she tears around the apartment like a crazy person, not to mention how much she loves chewing) but my life is so much fuller with her in it.