Picket Fence Post

Remember way back in December I wrote about how, less than 10 hours after The Spouse’s 18-year-old cat died just after we decorated our Christmas tree, that The Girl began inquiring when we’d be getting a dog, just like the Obama girls? The issue about which I also wrote a column?

Well now it’s been four months since we first broached the subject of getting a dog for our family. The Obamas got their dog a few weeks ago, and now The Girl is wondering where OUR dog is. I told her that we’re still in the deliberative/research phase of this whole canine thing. The first step was to figure out what kind of dog we’d like, I told her, so, when we were at the library over the weekend, I borrowed a photo-filled book of dogs for everyone’s browsing pleasure.

The Youngest Boy (7), for some reason, kept saying, “Let’s get a pit bull!” To which I replied, “Never. No way.” Then he modified his request, suggesting that we get a dog he could “ride,” To which I said, “Never. No way.”

Since I work from home and will likely spend more time with this dog than anyone else in the family, I’ve made the executive assertion that I get to set some of the ground rules such as: No huge or drooly dogs. “Small dogs make small poop,” I’ve joked with the kiddos (half joking . . . kind of), adding that I don’t want some princess-y pocketbook dog either.

With those loose criteria in mind, the kids started to place bookmarks in the dog book to indicate their favorites. The Youngest Boy put bookmarks next to pictures of Yorkshire terriers, Cairn terriers (like Toto from The Wizard of Oz), a West Highland terrier (sensing a theme here?), and a pit bull terrier (he just wouldn’t let that pit bull thing go). The Girl echoed her younger brother’s West Highland terrier choice (those dogs look just like the McDuff character in the Rosemary Wells books) and a miniature poodle (my parents have a black one named Kelly whom she loves). The Eldest Boy, who has repeatedly said he does not want a dog but is resigned to the fact that it’s going to happen whether he likes it or not, ironically identified big dogs, a golden retriever and a Labrador retriever.

I decided not to identify any type specific breed because I don’t want to overly influence others, except for eliminating pit bulls and giant, drooly dogs that a 7-year-old could ride like a pony.

However The Spouse has yet to put any bookmarks in the dog book . He’s not so much on this dog bandwagon. Me thinks he’s going to need a bit of a nudge.

That being said I’d love to hear from you dog owners who have dogs and young kids: What kind of dog do you think would work for a busy family of five (kids ages 7, 10 and 10), given that I don’t want a big, drooly dog that’s difficult to care, groom or train?

Image: This web site.