I'm in love. And he loves me back. I snuggled with him until he fell asleep in my arms. His name is Buster. He is a tiny, soft, black, part-lab with very small paws who licked my hand and immediately rolled over so I could pet his belly. When I picked him up I was hooked. No barking. No jumping on me or the kids. No whining. No dog smell. But I can't have him. He is the new addition to our friends' home.
We have no pet. (Sorry Clark, but as nice as you and Clarks #1-21 have been, as long as you and your roommates are still swimming around in a fish tank, I find it hard to get close.) I have allergies, as did my mom, so we didn't have furry friends in the house when I was growing up. There was a gerbil phase.... I married Yoko when I married CD, so I did live with a cat for a while, despite the sneezing. She was already 17 years old when we met, and lived almost four more, dying when Pook was a baby. But fish, gerbils and even Yoko are just not comparable to a dog.
I've thought about getting a dog for our home. Since I never wanted to have more than one family member un-potty trained at a time, we never considered it seriously. I worry that we'd get attached and then discover that I couldn't breathe well with it in the house long-term and we'd have to give it up. But, everyone in our house is potty trained. And I do have a fenced back yard. And we do have a two story house with all the bedrooms upstairs. And Buster is so sweet. There could be other dogs like him. For now, I'm puppy dreaming.
I have two dog-loving friends who have married people with severe pet allergies and have adopted hypo-allergenic breeds. One has a Wheaten Terrier, the other a Golden Doodle (a cross between a Golden Retriever and a standard poodle). Both are adorable, smart and fabulous pets and appears that the really don't bother the allergic owners. While I love the idea of adopting a shelter dog, if I had allergies, I'd definitely consider one of those breeds.
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