We got a dog!

...for a day. :)
Although the seed was planted in me long ago to get a dog, the overall premeditated period for this venture was pretty short. I grew up saying I wanted a dog and no kids. Now here I am, three kids and still wanting a dog...until now.
Brand new to the area, some new friends from our ward invited us to dinner where I found she was a big dog-lover and had trained her dog very well. I told her how I've always wanted a dog, but didn't know anything about them and needed to learn. She was excited to help me learn all I needed to know and gave me a book to read. Later that week, she let me know that a family in the ward had a black lab puppy they were trying to find a home for. We were quickly introduced and we liked the puppy but I just wasn't sure it was the right time for us to get a puppy. But here the little furry thing was. It was so cute. So wantable. I don't even have any furniture it could ruin, I don't care about the carpet we have right now, I have this great friend who is helping me learn all I need to know...all these thoughts made me think, maybe this wouldn't be a bad time to get a dog. And so I talked Jeremy into it.
We begun making all kind of preparations and, although I had already read quite a few chapters in the book, I began speed reading even faster. There was a lot to think about and I made three trips to the pet store in just a few days trying to get ready for her. We picked up the puppy on Wednesday evening. We hadn't technically got an approval from our leasing office though, but I assumed it would be okay- something you just kind of go down and sign the papers for. There were a ton of big dogs in the complex that walk around, it seems like.
It was kind of crazy night, our first full attempt at taking care of a dog. She was a great puppy! She even went potty on her pad a couple times, and just laid in her blocked off area, very mellow for a puppy, which means we could call ourselves lucky. All of this only made me feel worse about what I realized the next day, for it was all soon to end...
Jeremy went to the office the next morning and talked to them about the puppy. Even though it was still small, because our lease term was 13 months and the labs will be over the size limit by that time, they were giving us trouble about getting the puppy. You see, we kind of didn't tell them that we had already kind of got the puppy. So the puppy lived with me "illegally" for that day. We took her to the vet and got medicine for fleas and worms. We took her with us to pick dad up from work. This was all quite a bit of work doing a puppy and a 6 month old- not to mention two other kids- at the same time. Not that I can say i wasn't warned, in fact, there were many people that snickered and looked at me doubtingly when they heard we were getting a puppy- which was kind of hard to deal with in itself. But the basic fact was this- the office hadn't approved her yet, so we quickly took her back to our friends house who had been fostering her that night after work. We didn't want to be fined for having a dog. That night, I sat in my house, on break from this smell and everything that comes with the inclusion of an animal, and I realized... it's not right to have the dog here with us right now. The other kids, the close quarters, the neighbor downstairs that already thinks we're too loud, the fact that we're not sure where we're moving to in 6 months... it all kind of clouded over and I realized it was not a good thing- though the dog was a very good dog- it wasn't time to get a dog. It had been a costly decision in a way. I loved the crash course in dog care. I loved that cute little puppy face. But it wasn't the right time for us to get a dog.
Now, I'm looking back on that crazy week thrown in with the already crazy experiences that comes with moving to a new place. I have to be completely honest and say, I've started to have this inkling that I might not be a dog person after all. It was a heart breaking week for me, something I'm still trying to understand. I see others with dogs and I still feel a little 'jealous'. I still perk up when I see a sign or ad looking for a dog owner. I'm not sure what keeps driving that in me. But Jeremy has put his foot down and said No for now.