Getting a Puppy

For those of you who have known/met me in the last three or so years, you might have heard me mention (maybe once or twice) that one day, when I graduated, I was going to get a puppy. There has never been much of a question that I wanted a dog. Sure, I am deathly allergic to cats---hives, runny nose, red itchy eyes, the whole allergy gambit basically--but even if I wasn't I would definitely still be a dog person. Doggie was my very first word. I'm pretty sure I even brought up the whole getting-a-puppy thing before Dave and I got married in one of those serious engagement talks about money and baby names and who is going to do the dishes. The puppy was even a major criterion in our apartment search in Florida. Seeing as how it was meant to be my graduation present, we wanted to make sure to find a place where we wouldn't have to hide it from the landlord.
With all of this, you'd think by now I'd have a puppy, right? We've spent a lot of time on petfinder.com, gone to visit puppies at the Petsmart on Saturdays, etc.. Surprisingly, the more we looked, the more nervous I've become. I know it sounds a little silly, but I've started to have all sorts of second thoughts. Am I ready to have a puppy? They are a big time commitment after all. No more late nights or waking up at the last second to get ready. Puppies need routine and predictability. Daily walks. Kibble. Water. Discipline. Could I really train a dog, or was I just setting myself up to come home to decimated furniture? The potty-training thing is perhaps the most intimidating part. If we had a yard, this would be no big deal, but an apartment certainly complicates things. How long can you even expect a dog to hold it? At least with a kid there is a diaper involved. Dogs have the charming trait of picking a favorite spot on the carpet. I suppose if worse comes to worse, I could always get rid of the dog--which is a clear advantage of dogs over children--but I know I would be guilt stricken if I did something like that.

So cute!

Obviously I've been putting a lot of thought (and maybe a smidgen too much worry) into this, and I've come to a decision. For now, I am going to practice with some houseplants. This should help me: A. Calm down a bit and B. Save up some puppy money. In the meantime I'm going to set up a meeting with a really nice breeder for Mini Australian Shepherds just south of us. I love the breed, and I want to talk to her and get the total inside scoop before I commit to a dog. I'm hoping she can find us the puppy that will suit us best (one with a relatively low level of energy I think) and I'm willing to wait for awhile until that happens.

It's worth a side note that as I write this Dave is arguing on the phone about American foreign policy--specifically isolationism vs. jingoism. So just in case you were wondering what is going on with him, now you know (although you could have probably guessed that one). Also he just started orientation today. Yikes! Where has the summer gone?