Phoebe

When Mabel went to doggy heaven last February, I was in no rush to replace her with a new canine friend. It was sort of a relief, actually. No barking dog to yell at while the girls napped. No dog hair tucked away in every crevice of our home. No dog doo in the yard to clean up. It took me a good long while to change the defensive way I swept the kitchen floor and loaded the dishwasher. In those first few weeks I found myself saying "git" to the air.

But as time went by, I realized I missed having a dog in our home. I missed having a happy little floor cleaner around....just waiting for food to drop. I missed knowing exactly when someone pulled in the driveway, and the security that brings. I missed having a pet for the kids to love and play with, and the responsibilities that go along with it.

And so I began my search for the "perfect dog." My requirements? A medium sized, happy, non-shedding, good with kids, oaf of a dog is all I really wanted. After some research, my heart settled on the goldendoodle. During most camping trips this summer, the kids would spot one and shout out "MOM! There's your dog!" , and so I would make my way over and play 20 questions with its proud owner.

While we had settled on a breed, timing and price became the next obstacle. We realized we would want to train a dog before winter, but after our last camping trip Labor Day weekend. While scouring the internet last week, I stumbled upon a slightly older puppy, and the price was finally right. I like to think that we got her on clearance :)

The kids love her! Well 4 of them do...and Stella does about 50% of the time :) After a family meeting, and 5 rounds of voting and elimination, we settled on the name "Phoebe". The names that didn't make the cut? Shiloh, Booger, Foo-Fee, Doodle, Gretel, Sandy, Daisy, Maggie and Thelma. In the end it was actually a tie between "Phoebe" and "Foo-Fee", 3 votes each...we decided to toss Stella's vote :)

The one question that remains....

Who will be housebroken first?

The 2 year old...or the dog? :)