Another Dog

When we got our first dog my youngest was 3 months old. "Hello! What was I thinking?!" Exactly. After the first week of house training a puppy with four (sometimes 5) little ones running around I felt crazy! Luckily Rosie was a smart girl and she figured things out quickly. She soon became a part of our family and we can't imagine life without her. We think she's practically perfect.

Fast forward. My brother gets a doberman pincer puppy. Through a series of events she comes to live at my parents' house. My first real interaction with Novus was not good. There were three dogs, seven kids and a few adults in a small house and she ate food right out of my kid's hand. I wanted to beat her and I DID scream at her. She also terrorized my dog. But eventually she began to grow on me, and went back to live with my brother so I didn't have to put up with her as often.

Fast forward. My brother finds out he will be deployed to Afghanistan for a year in 2012 with his Army National Guard unit. He needs someone to "foster care" for his doberman. My parents are his only option. They don't really want to. . . And during one weekend visit I get this crazy, hair-brained idea to foster care for Novus. (She just came up and licked me--I'm pretty sure that meant 'thank you.') My husband is always up for crazy hair-brained ideas and we're gluttons for chaos so after talking and praying about it we decided. My parents kissed our feet. My brother was pleasantly surprised. And Danny and I were preparing ourselves for a rough time of transition.

Fast forward. Two weeks ago Novus came to live with us. Novus is an intelligent dog who has had a "rough" life. She adores my brother but through life circumstances is not always living with him. She has a had a handful of homes and at least that many "masters" in her 2 years of life. So she has a steep learning curve. But she is proving herself to be a quick learner, a fun dog, and obedient and submissive, if a little ornery at times.

I think Danny and I liked the idea of the challenge of "retraining" Novus. (It might be a little pride too). But the main reason we did it was for LOVE. Danny and I would not consider ourselves dog lovers, although our oldest and youngest sons are. But we do love our family. I knew that bringing Novus to live with us would be an act of love to my parents who were in a place in life where caring for Novus was not good for them. But more importantly it was an act of love to my youngest brother. I do not always understand my brother and sometimes we seem worlds apart. But he is my brother, my flesh and blood, the adorable baby turned handsome man that I used to call my 'country boy' and dote on. He will always be my brother and I will always love him. And I am proud of his sacrifice as a specialist in the Army National Guard military police and his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. I don't always know how to say "I love you" to my youngest brother. But I am pretty certain that one of the things he loves most in his life is his dog. So while he's off serving our country I'll serve him and say "I love you" by caring for his dog. And so far it's turning out to be a pretty good deal.

I think she's even growing on Rosie.