Meet Maggie

Over the years I've shared a fair amount of our personal lives with you guys. I try not to inundate you with pictures of my kids, but I view this blog as not only my creative outlet, but also a scrapbook of sorts. So it seems only right for me to introduce you to the newest member of our family....Maggie!

I would hardly call us 'dog people.' Mr. Sugarplum and I both had dogs as kids, but haven't had one since. Over the last 15 years, we always seemed to live next to people who left their dogs in the backyard all day and night. That leads to unhappy dogs that bark. A lot. At all hours. Needless to say, that impacted our desire for a dog.

But our son had different ideas, and has been asking for a dog since he was 5 years old. But we always had a reason to say no...

"Your sister is a baby"

"We don't have a big enough back yard."

"I don't want dog hair all over the furniture."

"You have allergies."

"I don't have time to train a puppy."

"We're just too busy, and never home!"

Then a few years ago, our daughter started in on the begging, too, and it was a constant conversation in our house. I always dreamed of surprising them Christmas morning with a puppy, but Maggie had other plans for us.

We were coming out of Target last month (so obviously I was in a good mood), and saw that PetSmart was having an adoption event next door. Of course the kids started in immediately to go look at all the puppies, and for some reason I agreed (must have been the Target-high). Long story short, this sweet girl met us at the door and didn't leave our sides until we brought her home.

All three of them are practically glowing with happiness!

Even though it happened suddenly, bringing Maggie home wasn't a decision we made lightly. Each of us spent time with her to be sure we all felt the same thing. And since she's a rescue, we wanted to see how she behaved around children, other dogs, in the car and at home. The kids also had to agree to being responsible for feeding, walking, and bathing her...not to mention, poop duty. It's amazing to see them get up early every morning just to walk her before school. 

I swear she smiles!

Maggie is around 2-years-old, so she's house-trained, and doesn't chew on things. Bonus! She barks only when someone knocks on the door, she doesn't get on the furniture much, and she doesn't even shed. We won the dog-lottery with this sweet girl! She also loves car rides, and sticks to us like glue.

When she's not following us around, she's waiting for a belly-rub.

In just a few short weeks, she has totally stolen our hearts (ok, we're obsessed with her) and has become 100% part of our family. Turns out, none of our arguments of why we shouldn't get a dog even apply...or matter...with Maggie.

First day of school

Soccer games

 

She's even giving us new and better habits like nightly walks as a family and more picnics in the park.

She's really sweet with the kids, and a great playmate for them. They adopted her with their own money, so they feel a real sense of ownership and responsibility for her.

I'm convinced she knows we rescued her...she is so loving and grateful. And just like that, we're totally dog people.

How could we not love this sweet face?!

Don't worry, this won't turn into a pet blog...but since Maggie is everywhere we are, she's likely to make frequent appearances. She's got about 10 different breeds in her, so we call her 'All American.' Do you have any guesses as to what she is (she weighs 40 pounds and her fur is soft)? Are you a dog person? Have you ever suddenly and completely unexpectedly fallen in love with an animal?!?