23 September 2010

eric

The decision, after years of toyfully playing with the idea and then discarding it with a nervous laugh every single time, has been made. As a family we have always had pets. Well cats, that is. Right now we have 3 gorgeous kitties. I've always been a cat-person, dogs just never felt right. A bit like a fab coat that looks awesome but the minute you try it on, you just know it's all wrong. That's what the idea of owning a dog felt like to me.
So what the hell happened? Why am I all of a sudden possessed with the desire and need to have a dog? What's that about? This time it's not some superficial whim or crazy fantasy fuelled by my husband's secret desire to have a Pointer of some sort. It's deep, it bubbles up inside me and comes flowing out in great big waves of happiness because I've realised that having made this unheard of decision, feels righter than any pussycat can. There have been outside influences all along, especially of late. My sister-in-law has just acquired a dreamy Labradoodle called Archie, and several of my Twitter-chums have also come out of the blue as rather fabulous dog-owners. Of course there's D., my friend and fellow blogwriter (Salcottroad), who has been a steady, enthusiastic, enlightening and heavy influence where dogs are concerned. She is not only the owner of Max, a superb Kurzhaardackel, but has also recently become mum to Ottavio, the most beautiful Bassett Hound pup that you've ever laid eyes on.
So for years I've been listening with an incredulous look on my face to various friends telling me how they searched high and low for a particular breed and then drove 2 days across Europe to pick up their new little 4-legged friend. Who in their right mind would DO such a thing and why, for goodness sake? I never knew the answer until today. Today the penny dropped. It was probably an insanely wild mixture of emotions and situations, the full moon, my two boys growing as well as the knowledge that I'm not going to have another baby, the husband's and my realisation that we only live once and just generally why the bloody hell not?
It all seemed to become so easy once we decided which dog. That was the key to everything. It unblocked the fear of the unkown and just made it feel like home. We found a breeder and I've already bonded with her in a BIG way over the phone today and on some weekend in early December we are going to drive those 2 days across Europe ourselves to go get our little boy. Nothing weird in that, I can tell you. Imagine, he's not even born yet! But we won't have long to wait, the puppies are due in just under 2 weeks and I know that when my breeder NBF calls to announce their arrival, I will have trouble speaking to her because of my wobbly chin.
The husband, true to form, has started compiling endless lists of names (btw this all feels SO familiar - last time we behaved like this was when we were expecting the birth of our sons). This is all very well, you may say, but what exactly lies behind it, eh? Yes, I KNOW what it's about, call it what you like but an Ersatzbaby is what it so obviously is. Bring it on.
The name Eric is not final but it's a strong contender. And our new dog will probably look not very unlike the one above. Our 2 sons are beside themselves with excitement and we will of course be spending every single day from now until the puppy's arrival in December, talking, planning and dreaming of him. I can already feel the influence he will have on us.
Just for the record: I promise to stay reasonable and not lose my mind over my dog. If you do notice obsessive behaviour on my part, please slap me.

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