Never Say Never.

There are two things I swore that I would never do prior to having my Little Man. The first it to go into a room with a snake (I have an extreme phobia of snakes. Extreme) and the second is getting a dog. As for the first I lost that battle a long time ago. There has been more than one instance where I have found myself cowering in the corner at a museum, zoo, or at a party (why dear God people insist on having reptile shows at kids birthday parties is beyond me) while the little man sits enthralled with what has now become his "favorite" animal. (Of course that would be the case.)

Now I am finding that my hard and fast rule against dogs is slowly dissolving and I couldn't believe it the other night when I uttered the words to my husband, "if we move to California, than you do know that we could/ should/ might get the LM a dog." While I almost choked on those word as they came out, I realized that very soon (i.e. in a few years) we could be a family of 4, with a possible canine in the house. It's not that I have anything against dogs, in fact I love other people's. It's the idea of the work that comes with them that really turns me off. As I tell my Dad all of the time, "my kids one day will be potty trained, your dogs will not." Then there is also the whole life span thing, I hate the idea of loving something so much, and knowing that it will only be around maybe 15% of your life. Oh, and then there is the hair. Not only am I allergic to the hair, but the idea of it being all over everything, clothes, furniture, kids...etc really freaks me out.

All of that being said, when I see pictures like this, all resolve gets a little mushy, and yes, if in fact we moved to a warmer climate I could see rescuing a dog.*

Oh, and don't think the LM was the only one who fell in love during our last trip to California. Here are our family dogs (pig hybrids) anxiously awaiting his return in a few weeks.

Yep, they are  pretty much lost without a 3 year old to chase after.

If we do add a canine to the family, I do have three things I will never waiver on.

1. I will never walk anything in the snow at 6 am (or anytime for  that matter) so this is definitely for when we head west for greener pastures; and
2. This will be our third child (because I'm pretty sure they are just as much work.) Not that there was any doubt that we are having our last baby, but just in case, the dog will come a few years down the road when I am ready for another "baby" to train; and
3. I won't pick up poop. After what will be 6 years changing diapers I will be all set with other's feces. If the kids want the dog, then it's on them. 

I say the former realizing that when it comes to kids you can really never say never. 

*No Dad this is not an april fool's joke, I'm serious here.