Gone with the Whim

/ Quirky Girl

Experience is the best teacher.

Or so they say.

But do human beings ever truly learn from experience?

Judging by my decision-making skills, I’m gonna go with no.

Had I decided I’d been lacking a sufficient amount of insanity in my life?

Seems to me on any given day, I’m personally not lacking for ways of keeping myself sufficiently occupied.

And yet…

After writing a goofy rant about extravagant child-related expenses last week, my family and I went out and did the most logical thing possible a mere two days later.

Now, we aren’t particularly spontaneous people when it comes to making big decisions that require serious commitment.

But my younger son had recently written a compelling letter about a very specific concern related to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey that set the madness into motion.

So, last Sunday afternoon…

We took a drive to a local pet shelter.

Just to look around, of course.

And then we somehow walked out of there with yet another mouth to feed.

We drove home with a delightful Border Collie rolling around in the backseat, wedged between my ecstatic son and me.

What did I know about dogs?

Not a whole hell of a lot, that’s for sure.

Yet once again, I found myself permitted to bring home a living thing…

With no clue as to what I was doing or getting into. 

Sensing a pattern here?

I’d only owned a small handful of pets in my life.

We had a few gerbils and hamsters when I was little.

I thought they were creepy and was terrified to ever go near them.

When I was 12, I desperately wanted a kitten.

And as luck would have it, we ended up getting one for free.

She was part Siamese, and far bigger part crazed alley cat.

When she wasn’t busy trying to stuff live birds and butterflies in her mouth, she’d move on to picking fights with the neighborhood cats.

She also tried to kill us on a daily basis as she hid at the bottom of the stairs with the hope of catching a leg or two on the way down.

And then there was our more recent failed venture in fish ownership.

The first-ever pets for my boys, the never-ending cycle of birth and death in that tank of inbreeding fish should’ve, at the very least, taught us a lesson in setting a solid case for avoiding future pets at all costs.

What were we thinking?

I’ve never been much of a dog person.

Large dogs freak me out.

Loud dogs don’t do much for me, either.

But this guy…

He’s no ordinary dog.

He’s sweet.

He’s quiet.

He stands on his hind legs and gives gentle hugs. 

He’s calm, happy, and entertaining.

He loves to be loved.

He’s our 5 year old puppy.

Most of the other dogs at the shelter were barking their heads off and bouncing off the sides of their cages like crack-fueled maniacs.

But not this guy.

He sat there quietly, gazing at us with a look of pure happiness and contentment.

As if he knew the key to being a winning prospect was simply to not look like a raving lunatic.

And so now here we are, going for walks and peeing in neighbors’ flower beds.

The dog, I mean.

Not me.

Definitely not me.

He’s also taken a liking to pooping in my herb garden.

Well, they do say pets enrich lives.

I guess the extra fertilizer must be the enriching factor.

Hopefully those herbs will really start flourishing now!

For someone who never cared much for dogs, this sweet boy managed to win me over in a heartbeat.

I’m still not sure how to feel about all the face licking and crotch sniffing, though.

But at least he doesn’t ask me when I’m going grocery shopping again since he probably won’t be the one eating us out of the house.

~Happy Friday, friends! If you’d like to read my son’s compelling case for getting a dog, click on the picture below for a larger view. I think he might have a future in persuasive essay writing. Either that, or he’ll make a disturbingly fine attorney… Have a fantastic weekend!~

The letter that led to it all...

The letter that led to it all…

41 thoughts on “Gone with the Whim”

  2. I loved this post I really did. It’s a wonderful read.
    A couple of years back our family 🐈 named Tigger was very ill and in a local animal welfare hospital/ organisation and we were getting ready to say goodbye to or loving furkid. We wanted to get another fur kid in Tigger memory but were too sad and traumatized to go out and just get another pet.. so as we sat in the car my son begged me to consider getting a new kitten.
    I sat in the car and said ” If we were to get a new cat we could only get one if her name was Charlotte” a great mom moment right? So we lick up the car and walk over the parking lot and into this big room with kittens and cats running around playing… Out of the blue the most beautiful kitten ever to exist kept playing with me of all people. She was up and down my pants leg and purred as if she was meant to be mine!!! The lady from the organization comes up to us and says “Charlotte Church what are you doing honey?”
    We were dumbfounded… Where my son could only have a cat if it’s name was Charlotte (what were the chances?) Here she was!!!
    Needless to say she chose me so I chose her!!!

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    • Thank you! I think I’m personally boring the crap out of this poor doggie while the boys are at school. I thought for sure he’d be enthralled by my never-ending cleaning routine, but he looks unimpressed and underwhelmed by my exciting life. 😝

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  8. God bless you, Quirky, for taking in a shelter pet. Though he seems sweet and quiet, don’t be too quick to pass judgment; it takes a few weeks for their “real” personality to emerge. I loved your son’s essay, too. You’ve apparently figured out how to raise a good kid (probably all those inspirational lunchbox notes?), so a dog should be easy. I had mixed feelings about dogs before I got one. They require more work than other pets, but they give back tenfold in terms of affection and empathy. You’ll see. Enjoy the new little addition to your family. 🙂

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    • Thank you! Boy, if my lunch notes inspire that kind of persuasive responses from my children, I’d better quit while I’m ahead. 😜

      This sweet doggie is a surprising source of joy. It is rather nice to come home from work to a dog who runs over to see me and give big hugs. My boys, on the other hand, do run over, too… to dig into the bags of groceries. 😜

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  10. Awww, I love that you have a dog! He sounds amazing. Border collies are beautiful. So looking forward to seeing how your newest addition will bring comically quirky to your posts 🙂

    I had a cat named Lucifer in college. Reason: he would sit on top of the refrigerator in the basement (near the stairs) and try to attack us going down. He had moments of brilliance; however, they were few and far between. Luckily, he ran off at some point into the alley. Ah, college days at Hopkins!
    Blessings … hope your weekend is going well,
    Debbie 🙂

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    • Thank you! I’m sure my newest addition will add plenty of inspiration for my writing. He’s naturally entertaining. 😄

      Lucifer sounds like a clone of my childhood cat, Scamper. My brother had originally suggested naming her Killer. That probably would’ve been a far better fit. 😜

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  13. This post reminded me of my 6 year old niece who spent the entire summer convincing my sister to let her keep a cat. Our mum happens to have a cat already, so my niece started looking after it just to prove she was responsible enough. It was the cutest sight ever. She is about to get one as a birthday gift in January but has no idea yet. Hope things continue to run smoothly with your dog. xx

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  19. Good for you for rescuing a dog from the shelter Angelica! I’m a dog person and all I can say is that they unconditionally give themselves to you. They fill a special void that was missing in your life. On a bad day, they cheer you up. When you’re lonely, they’re good company. You can’t vent to them, they reciprocate with licks to the face. They become one of the family. This’ll be a great experience for your boys as well as you. The one thing that you should always remember is that you didn’t pick the dog, the dog chose you to be its owner. Great post…can’t wait to hear future stories on your adventures with your “three kids.”

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    • I have to admit, for someone who was never a dog person, this guy worked his way into my heart in record time. And you’re right- he absolutely chose us. He just sat there at the shelter, looking calm and happy at that moment when we happened to come along. It is nice to come home from work and be greeted by someone who is affection and not making a hundred and one demands. 😝 I’m sure there will be plenty of doggie-inspired writing material coming up in the near future!

      (BTW, I just discovered your comment today in my spam folder… 😕)

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