Yes, we are getting a dog. We are finally getting a dog! 

It all started around 12 years ago. Actually, it started with my childhood. We lived on a half-acre of land with a beautiful home that my dad, who’s an architect, built for us. I grew up caring for a dog and a cat, a cockatiel bird at one point, several goldfish (I’m sure you can guess as to why I said “several”), a bunch of chickens, then another amazing dog, and a Quarter horse named “Red”. Lots and lots of animals – Not all of them all at once, but you get the picture. 

My childhood was idealic. Even though I grew up in southern California not far from the beach, where I lived was a place filled with fields and creeks, and to me it felt like I lived in the wide-open country. I spent my summers building forts, riding bikes, and playing in the nearby creek catching crawdads on the end of a self-made fishing line with my two older brothers. It was the best, and so of course I always wanted to give my kids a little bit of that same childhood.

When I was pregnant with our son, my favorite dog “Buddy” passed away from cancer, and it was devastating. He was this adorable, forever- young, uber friendly and loveable golden lab/retriever mix that had come to us when I was in junior high. He literally came to us. As my mom tells it, he used to escape from the neighbor’s yard to come and visit with us. Eventually because those neighbors were a busy young couple with not allot of time for a dog, they decided to give him to us. And that was the beginning of a beautiful love story filled with endless games of fetch, dips in the pool, jogs together around the neighborhood, naps in the afternoon, and wet slobbery greetings with a mouth full of freshly picked oranges from our trees. Let’s just say I can totally relate to the story “Meet Marley”. 

Eric and I decided not to get a dog while our kids were little. Then once they were in grade school we began the search, and sadly we have been searching ever since. Trying over and over, but repeatedly having opportunity after opportunity fall through along the way. We even considered the purchase of a service dog.

Then one day a few months ago, while on a walk with our daughter around our favorite park, we stopped for a minute on the path surrounding the soccer fields and a puppy came wondering over to me. The little girl who’d been holding its leash had let it go, and the little golden retriever came straight to me as I stood there on the path. It was curious and calm, and I felt prompted from somewhere inside to “Just ask”. So, I ventured out of my comfort zone to ask the mom of the little girl where they had gotten their puppy. One thing led to another after that, from the puppy to the puppy’s reputable breeder, then from the breeder to a service dog trainer who helped us pick our puppy out and will help us train it as well, and now here we are about to adopt our family’s first dog.

“Sadie” is the name that our Abbey chose for her. And we couldn’t be more excited for her to join our family. The amazing thing about this story is just how full circle it has come. At one point along our journey, we were willing to purchase a trained service dog, and now instead we will be training a dog of our own. And the best part is that Abbey is now ready for this, and that thankfully our son is still home for a little while longer before coming home only for visits from college beginning next fall. So together they’ll both get to experience the joy of having a dog in our home.  

Every day we hear something new about Abbey’s thoughts on Sadie. 

“Will she lick me?”, she asks curiously.

“I get to train her.”, she proudly proclaims.

“This is where Sadie sleeps.”, she shares with visitors.

This has been a long time coming, and there is no doubt that the timing and path we took to get here were God designed. His ways are truly beyond my ability to comprehend. I’m just so thankful that He knows what we need, and He is always on time. Of course, I’m not saying that getting a dog was a need, or that everything we wish for in life is guaranteed, though I know we have a heavenly Father that delights in giving us good gifts (James 1:17). What I am saying is simply this. We have a God who loves us dearly and we can trust Him for all things and in all ways. Even for the timing of getting a dog.