carter

in no way shape or form do i consider myself a dog whisperer.

i'm probably closer in relation to the dog yeller - and not old yeller, either.

we have a love/hate relationship

it's fair to say that 50% of the time we cuddle, walk nicely on either end of the leash, fetch the ball for each other, and sit and stay

it's also not fair but true to say that 50% of the time we do not speak the same language, resulting in whining and commands repeated loudly (even though our trainer taught us not to repeat).

i have to be honest in saying i do not know how we ended up adopting this particular puppy.

ok, that's a lie. i know perfectly well how it happened.

this was three months after we moved into the house, and we wanted a puppy (sometime in the future). we were reading books on the best type to have, and talking to everyone about where to find the perfect puppy. we had it narrowed down to a few breeds that were basically "lazy" and "tiny" and wouldn't mind being in a small house with a little yard.

one sunday we passed by a pet store that had huge banner out front saying something about puppies and a rescue foundation. i begged everyone to stop "just for a minute" to see the puppies... i just wanted to "look". they were all chihuahuas and adorable, and not the type of dog we were looking into adopting. and then there was one that was not a chihuahua but he was absolutely beautiful, and he really wanted me to hold him.

as i cuddled this beautiful tiny shy puppy, he nuzzled into my neck and i was in love.

we found out he was at least half miniature pincher

a breed familiar to the fiance

his mom was only 6 pounds

so the rescue didn't expect him to get much bigger than that

well... our puppy is now almost 14 pounds (and he's all muscle at that)

he bounces around the house energetically and loves to run

he is by no means a "lazy" dog but luckily he does love to cuddle still

if it weren't for the cuddles, i might have gone crazy by now