laughter and plenty of chaos

growing up i was never without a pet. first there was luke. my father rescued the black lab from starving in the streets and to this day considers the dog he long buried the greatest friend he ever had. throughout my childhood we enjoyed a combination of regulation pets like our blood thirsty cat gizmo as well as animal friends of the more exotic variety.

we had four turtles named – you guessed it – donatello, leonardo, michelangelo, and raphael. there was a hedgehog, a smelly guinea pig, a huge aquarium, countertop fishtanks, and for a brief period we raised canaries. a rabbit named bugs, an iguana name lizzy, and more than one goldfish named goldie all lived under our roof. while i was in college my parents brought home a bichon who turned twelve this year. she is the cutest, fluffiest, sweetest dog you could imagine.

my mister grew up sans pets, which sounds wildly peaceful and much less hairy.

through complete trickery, incessant whining, and master negotiating, i convinced my husband that our new house would never be a home without a dog.

our friends suggested we look into adopting a pup through eleventh hour rescue out of rockaway. they explained the process required an application, two references, and a bit of a wait period until we could begin hunting for the perfect furry friend to join our family.

we took a short trip to the rescue center in the rockaway mall where we met with a team of volunteers who explained what we could expect from the process. after filling out our paperwork and providing references we headed home to wait for everything to be processed.

two hours later i received an email from a woman who was assigned our application. she was a volunteer from the organization who lived in my town and had a foster dog hoping for his fur-ever home. she emailed photos, a quick video, and some information about a black lab retriever mix with an invitation for us to meet come meet the puppy at her home the following day.

from the moment we met the beautiful black ten month old pup, my mister and i were head over heels in love. two days later on june seventeenth snoop dogg tiptoed through our front door and right into our hearts. our mornings have been earlier, our bed is more crowded, and our days have been filled with long walks, explosions of laughter, and plenty of chaos. snoop dogg is funny, sweet, and unbelievably clumsy. he is an attention hog, a toe licker, and a sock stealer. i have no idea how we ever lived without him.

happiest birthday to our boy snoop dog! you have made our lives and our home infinitely louder and furrier!

consider rescuing a dog or cat and learn more about eleventh hour rescue at www.ehrdogs.org.