The newest family addition

As of Monday I my kids and I have a new addition to the family. She is 13 weeks old and her name is Jazzi -- Ms. Jazzi to be exact. She is full of character. For those who are not pet and/or dog lovers I'm sure you wouldn't understand a person's desire to have not only more than one child but more than one pet as well.

I've been wanting a playmate for Diesel for awhile now. I knew that I didn't have the money to buy another dog any time soon so my desire to have a 2nd dog didn't get past a thought. Well, on Sunday evening, my daughter comes in from outside where she had been playing and told me that our neighbors said that she & her brother could have their last female puppy if I said it was o.k. (I have met them before and their daughter is the same age as mine, they attend the same school etc., etc.). I was telling her why we didn't need another dog and this child begins to cry these crocodile tears (never understood why people refer to big tears as 'crocodile', but oh well, why stop now). It just broke my heart. She promised to feed her and help potty train her and everything else that involves taking care of an a puppy. She even volunteered to be dog food with the money she has (about $10 to $12). I starting thinking -- it wouldn't hurt to just go and look at the puppy. I put on my flip-flops and walked down the street to the neighbors house to check out this little puppy that my daughter is crying over.

She is sooooo adorable. She even sits when you tell her too! I told the owner that I needed to think about it for 24 hours before I made a decision. Well, I thought about it all night and the next day. My mind was made up by lunch time (as I ran out during my lunch hour to buy a dog toy and other little items for her). She was officially ours at about 8 p.m. Monday night. She and Diesel aren't instantly getting along but this is not uncommon. She has to learn the 'pecking order' -- which may take a few days. Diesel is doing quite well. Believe it or not, she is the one who will start growling if she decides she doesn't want him sniffing her. She even tried to get at him a couple of times. I'm talking about a 13 week old, no more than 15 lb. puppy trying to get at a 2 year old, minimum 70 lb. dog!! It's actually quite hilarious. I'm sure poor Diesel is confused when she lunges at him and he barks and I'm trying to hold him back. I try to praise him for not cutting up even when she does. Last night she fell asleep in my lap and Diesel fell asleep on the floor. He kept sniffing her (I made sure she was NOT facing him) and she didn't act up.

I've read that with some dogs it could take days, weeks or even months before they respond well to one another. I think they've made progress since Monday. I'm guessing that in another week or 2 things will be fine. Ms. Jazzi definitely has a little spunk in her. She eats her food as if she is starving -- which she doesn't appear to be underfed. Maybe she just really likes it.

I am happy with my 2 boxers (no I would not want more than 2 dogs at 1 time). I just hope that they can start playing together soon. And --- my daughter is living up to her promise (so far). She is really helping out. My son earned brownie points by helping me fix the fence (replacing broken boards). One of his friends who came over and waited around for us to finish so that he & my son could go play made the funniest comment. As I was hammering a nail into one of the boards he commented "hey, this is supposed to be a man's job". I just looked at him at first and then replied, "well, if there's no man living in the home then it's a woman's job".

Two adorable kids and 2 gorgeous, loveable dogs -- who needs a man! O.k, maybe I'm taking it a little tooooo far. I certainly could have used a man to fix my fence the other day -- in the heat. It would have prevented me from sweating & messing up my hairdo -- just kidding :) .