Here's the thing, she is a small dog. About 18 pounds. Now, I know there are lot and lots of small dog lovers out there. And I love all dogs, truly. But I am going to be totally honest here, I never, ever thought WE would own a dog this small. Never. We are big dog people, at least medium dog people. Honestly, I find myself feeling a bit embarrassed and defensive when I tell people about our new dog. I qualify her size with her wonderful attributes. That's right I apparently am a dog sizeist. Ridiculous, I know. But I am laying it all out there to help you understand how much we felt this was the right little dog for our family, because remember, we would never have a small dog in our family.
Which can only mean one thing, Winnie was just perfect for our family, perfect. We went to a couple of adoption days and didn't find any dogs that met our needs - which to be fair are high. Has to be good with small kids, has to be good with cats, has to be good with other dogs. That is a lot to ask, I know.
We were about ready to head out when we saw Winnie, with her super cute bat ears. We told the adoption people our needs and they said she would be perfect. She was so cute. Honestly, we were hoping she was a puppy on her way to medium size. They said she is a year old, I thought well shoot. JT's face said "nope, not a chance. I can't run with that little dog." But Audrey, Audrey's face said "I am in love with this little dog who is the perfect size for me." Smitten.
Audrey had been sacred of most of the other dogs we saw. They were big. They barked. She was not a fan. "That dog is scary" had become a common refrain. We did not want to adopt a dog she was scared of, wasn't going to happen. So we could not just brush off her comfort with this dog. She took her leash and walked her around the store like the owned the place. Winnie licked her face and she giggled. She said "this is my new doggie? She comes to our house?"
Good grief. We walked around. Hemmed and hawed. Expressed our honest hesitation with a small dog to the adoption staff. They told us about several medium sized dogs that would be good but weren't there that day. We decided to go look one more place and then decide. Audrey was crushed that we left without her doggie.
My parents were with us, so JT and I just ran in to the next adoption day, quickly realized they did not have any dogs who met our needs and had a conference. Were we getting Winnie because she was the only dog that met our needs that day? Was she the right choice? She was really cute and Audrey loved her. JT told me my dad had to walk away he wanted her so bad. I told him Audrey was super sad we left without her. "Let's do it he said."
We went back to see if she was still there. She was. We sent the kids home with my parents so we could to take care of the details. Audrey was again crushed to leave without her doggie.
We haven't even had her a week, can I say for sure she is the perfect dog? No. Can I say for sure there wasn't another dog somewhere that would have worked for us, no? But can I say she is the right do for us right now? Yes!
She and Audrey chase each other around the yard. The boys smile and laugh at her. Turns out she is perfectly capable of going on short runs with us. She is sweet, kind, and cuddly. She tries to eat the kids toys and sometimes barks at phantom sounds, but this small dog is perfect for our family right now. Will we get a bigger dog someday, probably. But right now, Winnie is the perfect size for our family.
Let this serve as my apology to small dogs. I am sorry I have discriminated against you for so many years. Small dogs are no less dog than big dogs. Small dogs need love too.
