Let me tell you a story....

 
Adam got a dog for Christmas....FROM ME!
R.E.W.I.N.D 4 years: Picture Me and Adam falling in love dreaming about all the possibilities that our life together will hold. Well during these blissful moments of hormonal passion we came across the topic of getting a dog (more then once). Never agreeing on when the appropriate time/the appropriate number of dogs our future life would hold. At this time I told Adam straight forward that I would NEVER have a dog until I had a house and a kid begging for one. You see I have never really been a dog person. I blame it on my anxiety prone personality and the few scarring experiences I had as a wee child. Let me illustrate some examples for your entertainment.
1. The fact that neither of my parents really like animals (my mom says she does but its a lie) I remember one horrible experience when my dad and brothers came home with a dog and the whole family was so excited...Except for BONNIE (that is my mom). That night I heard the dog crying all night and it sounded as if my mom had gone insane and was, well, going insane on the dog. The next morning the dog was gone. My mom said she took it back to the owners but I still have my suspicions.
2. Bruin: This was my wonderful friend Abbey's dog. He was just down right mean. You see Abbey lived just a few houses away from me growing up and every time I thought about going over there I had the thought of Bruin waiting outside to terrorize me. When I finally did muster up the courage to go to her house the entire 4 house walk I would wonder and worry about whether or not Bruin would be waiting for me in Abbey's driveway. You see how these connections are forming in my brain...dog=I don't like.
3. Then there was the Henry's dog (do any of my westview drivers remember his name? I blocked it out). This dog was freaky! I had heard a million horror stories about how he had bit so and sos grandma and sent her to the hospital. He always escaped from his owners back yard and would just wander down the streets looking for prey. Anytime I was walking home from a friends house and I spotted him in the distance I felt like I was in the "mad dog" scene of To Kill A Mocking Bird. I wished I had a shot gun and knew how to use it like Atticus Finch.
4. Then there was Samantha aka Sam. She was a good dog. I think we only had her for a year or two. My dad would always take our dogs with him running. Well one day Dad and Sam went running together and only dad came back. My dad took a Suburban full of my siblings/friends down by the river with a grocery sack full of old lunch meat to try to lure Sam back to us but she was never seen again. (After reading story number 1 I am sure this seems a little suspicious to you too.)
5. During Jr high and high school we had Duffy.....If you remember him you know why he may have scarred me....I don't think it would be appropriate to get into the details on this one ;)
Fast forward 4 years, here I am still not a dog lover. So you may be wondering: How did we end up with a dog? They don't have a house and they don't have a kid? Well it is a series of events actually. Beginning with Adam starting to beg for a dog about two years ago. Every time he started in on wanting a dog I would say, "You knew what I was when you picked me up." (one of his favorite lines to use on me when I complain about his clothing in the front room.) Then in August of this year my friend Chelsea, a crazy dog person, knew someone from work that was giving away free chawinnies (if you don't know what they are google for a good laugh). Adam was dead set on getting on of these dogs and for some reason he thought I was slightly on board. I wasn't. After many conversations/arguments about getting this dog I won...but my heart did start to soften because I saw how sad he was when I didn't want the dog. Then on Adam's birthday in September something I said made him think that i would think about getting a dog soon. I still am not sure how he got that out of our conversation but once again was extremely disappointed when I was not interested in getting a dog. It had been a pretty depressing year for us and by mid-November I was ready for something to cheer us both up. So I decided I was going to cave and surprise Adam with a dog for Christmas. Oscar was dropped off at our doorstep in a Christmas bag. When Adam realized it was a dog he looked at me and said, "THIS IS THE NICEST THING ANYONE HAS EVER DONE FOR ME."
I still don't necessarily call myself a dog person but I do like our dog... most of the time.