NO, NO, NO!
From year one of marriage to year 34, that was my answer to, "Let's get a dog." I wasn't anti-dog. As a girl, there were family dogs that served as nannies, playmates, and bodyguards. My biggest problem with saying, "Yes," was time. Both of us worked full time. Hubby worked full time plus. And, we lived in small houses with small yards. I didn't think it would be fair to a dog to be cooped up so much.

PLUS ONE
Then, along came a son who turned out to be dog-phobic. I never understood why and as an adult, he still can't shed any light on why he didn't like dogs. My suspicion is that a dog in the neighborhood scared him when he was little. Oh, and we were both still working full time - Hubby full time plus - and now there were kid activities that would have meant more doggy alone time.

EMPTY NEST
Time passed. Our son left for the Navy. We downsized and moved to a house next door to a state park, across the street from a small lake, with a fenced backyard. Both of us cut back on our work loads. Uh-oh, my reasons for saying, "No," began to dissolve.

UNFAIR TACTICS
Gradually, more and more links to puppy pictures, puppy sites, puppy adoption articles began appearing on my Facebook page. First hand, second hand, and third hand they all came from Hubby. There's a reason puppies are so adorable. My arguments began to crumble in the face of all that cuteness. And then, this face ...

How did you become one of us "dog people"?

Who could say, "No," to this face?