Average Jane Adopts A Dog

This post is my entry into the BlogPaws Blog Carnival Contest sponsored by BISSELL Homecare, Inc.

When this much cuteness comes into your life, you have no choice but accommodate it.

In less than a week, we went from "we're fostering Toby to see how it goes" to "of course we're keeping him." The adoption will be finalized next week, but he's been "our dog" almost since the beginning.

I've never had a dog before. We had dogs when I was growing up, but none of them were ever mine. I was always a cat person and I figured that our unfenced yard was a dealbreaker when it came to getting a dog.

As it turns out, there are plenty of types of dogs that aren't suited for being left unattended in a yard, and Italian greyhounds are among them. That means we take Toby on lots of walks. He's well trained to walk on a leash, so our walks aren't a struggle in any way. He really needs a long walk each day; otherwise, he gets restless and bored. Have I mentioned that he's already shaved a minute off my average mile pace when we do my 3.4 mile morning walk together?

When Toby is indoors, he's very well behaved. He likes to lie next to me or sit on my lap while I'm reading. He'll follow me up to my office and curl up under the desk to sleep once he's been petted to his satisfaction. I haven't seen him get into anything, chew anything or otherwise misbehave in any way.

He wants to meet everyone he sees. Fortunately for him, the sight of a well-mannered small dog on a leash is a magnet for passers-by. He's also a magnet for free roaming dogs. Twice I've had big, unleashed puppies come bounding up to introduce themselves. Toby is not one of those small dogs who thinks he's a big dog; he's rather intimidated by larger dogs, so I have to be cautious when we encounter them.

I never realized we had a dog-shaped void in our lives until we met Toby. He's so different from our cats, but we love him just as much already. I look forward to many years of his companionship and I'm glad we can provide him with the attention he so clearly needs and enjoys.

Welcome home, Toby!