Almost Bought a Dog

The new edits to “Quest for the Red Sapphire” should be posted to Amazon within the next week.  I will keep you posted.  A new editor has been assigned to “Sapphire Crucible.”  We will start work on that next week as well.  Work on book 4 continues as time allows.  But the real reason for this blog is that my daughter has just about broken me on the puppy situation.  I have been saying flat out “No” to a puppy for over two years now but I’m finally starting to crack.  It all started when my wife started saying I should look into the cost of a fence for the backyard and that she would like one.  I knew right there she had given in but I would remain strong.  Now enter my youngest daughter who is 13.  She is 40% adorable, 40% salesman and 20% devious.  When you add that up I think I have shown great determination by holding out this long.  She wanted to just go look at puppies.  I came along to say no to any request.  The store policy allowed us to play with a total of 3 puppies.  The first one was a labradoodle.  It was cute but frisky.  My wife and daughter have allergies to some dogs and they had a little trouble with that one.  I played the role of dream-crusher and ordered the staff to take the puppy away and bring another.  The next one my family picked was maybe a terrier but to me it looked like something you sweep dust off the floors with.  It was small.  It was really small.  You could step on it in the middle of the night and kill it by accident.  While it liked being held, I always say the dog picks its owner.  Back to the display case with her.  Then I was asked to choose and I saw what my heart desired.  It was a big, 9 week-old golden retriever.  I let the family hold the gentle giant first to see how their allergies were.  Then they offered her to me.  I held the dog and she was the spitting image of my golden I bought growing up.  She licked my hand and rubbed noses with me.  I was in love.  Then I checked on my wife and daughter.  They were both breaking out in hives and my wife’s nose was running.  I suddenly remembered having to give up my dog to my mom when I got married because of the allergy issue.  There was no way I could have her; fence or no fence.  Sadly I handed her back to the clerk.  For some reason, the only dog my wife and daughter don’t problems with is a pure bred beagle.  I don’t know why that’s the case but it is.  So today I have to call about fences.  Once that happens I fear it is just a matter of time before I crack and we have a dog.  I love dogs.  They’re just a lot of work.