We've Gone to the Dogs...

Wicket

Winnie and Zip

As many of you know, prior to Connor's arrival, our dogs (of which there were three) were our BABIES. I am not kidding. Believe me when I tell you that each of our dogs had their own photo album, and our house was basically covered in giant sheets so that the animals could perch wherever they wanted to--including our bed (that is, until Brandon insisted that it wasn't fair for him to have to share his side with a 100 lb. laborador retriever). My mother-in-law would spend a great deal of time petting and playing with the dogs during her visits, and when my Grandma would call to check in, she would ask how "the granddogs" were doing. While our friends were talking about their new babies, we were sharing our dogs' latest antics. People pretended to be interested, which was very generous of them.

Since the children have come along, the dogs have been, well, demoted. So, in an effort to make it up to them, I am writing this post, that I am sure they will read and appreciate. ;)

A little history about our four legged friends:

Winnie came to us in May of 1999. I was a single college graduate who wanted a companion, and I decided that a Lab was just the way for me to go. Brandon accompanied me out to a small farm outside of North Kansas City where we first saw Winnie, and it was love at first sight. She was a good puppy and instantly started going wherever I went--which unfortunately included many trips back and forth to Lindsborg to take care of my Mom as she fought cancer. My Mom actually named Winnie for me, which is why even though Winnie is constantly forraging for food and eating trash, she will always have a special place in my heart. I was very thankful to have "someone" to come home to after working 12 hour shifts at the hospital. She slept beside me in bed and knowing that there was another live being in my house was a great comfort to me. It was just her and I for 6 months until Brandon moved in (not a good day in Winnie's estimation, by the way).

Six months into our marriage, Brandon and I were strolling around the Plaza, and happened upon a Humane Society satellite adoption at Barnes and Noble. Long story short, we ended up adopting Wicket in the summer of 2000. After all, it was only fair that Brandon have a dog, too, right? Wicket was a cute little black ball of fuzz (Maybe a beagle? A Rotweiller? Who knows?) with a rather significant anxiety problem. She is also a barker. However, given all of that, she is still a very loving, enthusiastic dog who LOVES to play fetch and is actually quite amazing at it.

That next summer, after an innocent trip to Target, we came home with Zip--we were once again victims of the satellite adoption, this time hosted by Wayside Waifs. Our reasoning behind dog number three was to give Wicket a friend, since Winnie was more fond of sleeping and eating trash than playing with her "sister". Also, I was beginning to be bitten by the baby bug, and another puppy was, in our minds, easier than a pregnancy would have been at this point in our relationship. :)

We lived with three dogs for awhile before moving to our new house in July of 2004. With our second baby on the way, we knew there were too many creatures trying to live in the same space (plus, we found at that according to Liberty law, we could only have two dogs registered to our name). It only took about six accidents on the new carpet and a couple times of the dogs tramping through our brand new house with mud all over their paws before we decided at least one of the dogs had to go. After a long search for an adoptive family, Zip went to live at the Doggy Hilton in Great Bend with my Grandma (who took better care of her dogs than most people do of their children). And we are now down to just two dogs, which is a much better fit for us.

The kids love the puppies, and Winnie and Wicket are very patient as the children use them to dress up or chase or use them as live jungle gyms. Wicket and Connor can play fetch for hours, which is pretty cool to watch. Winnie remains fully convinced that she is, in fact, a human (and perhaps even royalty at that). We are thankful that now, the dogs have a huge backyard to play in, and even though they sleep in the basement instead of on the couches, we think they're happy. :)