Weddingbee Blog

The most time consuming, costly decision best decision Mr. Pencils and I have made since deciding to get married was to get Boomer. Boomer is our 18 pound, dachshund mix puppy that we adopted from K-9 Lifesavers in Washington DC last April.

I’d had a hankering for a puppy for a good two years now, and when it came time for us to finally move in together, there was no better time. I spent Spring Break of 2009 hounding (haha) Mr. Pencils to help me fill out applications for dozens of rescue leagues. We didn’t care what kind of dog we would get—we just knew it had to be under 30 pounds, as our townhouse would have been a sad fit for a larger dog.

When I say applications, I truly do mean a pretty intensive vetting processes for every animal shelter, rescue league and adoption agency.

We had to fill out essays to qualify ourselves to adopt a pup! We had to ask ourselves what we believed about discipline, if we had time to support another living being, how we would adjust our lives to fit a dog’s schedules and our general philosophy about dogs and their needs! (I mean, my main philosophy about raising dogs is this: feed them, walk them, love them. ’nuff said. Does that take a 50 question app to discover?!)

Since adopting Boomer (or boom boom pow, boom-shocka-locka, boom-skillet, and boom-alicious), Mr. Pencils and I have really had to adjust our priorities. For a long time, we couldn’t be away from the house for longer than a few hours, and, at first, Mr. P had to stay at home all day before going to his grad classes in the evening. When Boomer was proving to have some difficulties (she hates strangers and tends to growl at them), we even bought a puppy raising book and I read it cover to cover and made the mister read some specific chapters. We almost became THAT couple that talks about their dogs all the time… eek gads.

It’s taken 9 months, but I finally feel like we have this whole dog thing figured out (except that she crapped on our kitchen floor the last three nights in a row). Mr. Pencils has had to learn to control his temper when the inevitable happens, like when Boomer pees or worse on the floor, and I’ve had to learn to wake up ten minutes earlier so she can get her morning walk on. It’s not perfect and Mr. P still takes her outside more often than I do because, I’ll admit, I’m scared of the dark. We’re learning how we each deal with the frustration and rewards of caring for another living thing, and we love the little black furred addition to the family.

And I’ll say it: it’s a definite step toward and test run for those kid things.

Have you and your fiance gotten a dog or cat? Has it changed the dynamic of your relationship?

*personal photos*