Mission not-so-impossible...

Okay, those of you who read Friday's really long post already know, but we adopted a dog! Not just any dog, one of the dirtiest, shaggiest, most matted dogs I have ever seen, with copious amounts of both hair and goop in her eyes, sticks in the fur under her belly, and her face stained brown with mud. Not exactly a pretty picture. But what a sweet, friendly little thing. Okay, a fat sweet little thing. 20 pounds on a 15 pound frame is not a great look for a dog. Her teeth are pretty bad looking right now too. We decided not to even attempt to groom her, we will be taking her to a groomers and get her shaved down. Any hair that is salvageable will be left. And I, who have thought for years that doggie clothes are ridiculous, am going to have to buy her a sweater since she will have no fur on her body.

I was able to talk her into having a bath. She wasn't too thrilled at first, it is a pretty deep tub, not what she is used to. Let me tell you, the amount of dirt that came off of her..... wow. I got the gunk off her eyes, and trimmed up the hair from them so she could see a little better. When she gets back down to a healthy weight she is going to be a beautiful girl.

So pros - she is very sweet and friendly. She doesn't seem to mind the kids when they are being quiet. She doesn't bark and doesn't shed. She will be beautiful once she is cleaned and the fur grows back. She has been bred, so if we wanted to find a stud and have a litter we can make some nice money. She trusts me a lot already, she let me blowdry her, so just think how loyal she will be once she is fully settled in and comfortable with us (and the noise from the kids).

The cons - She isn't already housebroken, just puppy pad trained. Her teeth are going to need work, which costs money. She is a little skittish around the noisy kids and we don't really know how long it will take her to get used to it. She is purebred and they tend to have more health problems. Shih tzus need lots of grooming and shampooed every week or two. And the biggest con - Mark isn't thrilled. He isn't really a pets kind of guy, let alone in the house. And that is where she will have to be until her coat grows back out or it gets warmer. It took me 6 years to talk him into the cat, and several months before he would actively play with her. And I kind of plopped this whole dog thing on him while his work schedule is crazy. He seemed a little more okay with her once he saw how bad she looked and I told her what the other dogs had been doing. But it may take him a while to come around. I understand, some of it is money, some of it time, and some just plain he was brought up that animals belong outside. Not me. So he's not really going to be a happy camper for a while.

Sorry about the long post about the dog, I am just really excited. I have wanted a dog for a while now, and it is just fun to talk about it.