Flashback 2years... We got a lab puppy for Christmas named Bella. Beautiful dog from a local breeder. But a dog nonetheless. I do not do dog hair in my house so Bella was an outside dog. At first it was wonderful and new and fabulous and she was small. But quickly she became big and not so wonderful as she began to chew up EVERYTHING. Driplines, sprinkler heads, toys, and my 3 year old's head. Every time Dalton or a small child went into the backyard, Bella would wait till their back was turned and pounce on them, knock them over and playfully chew on their head. Little kids don't like that in case you were wondering... There were lots of tears, scrapes and scratches - none of them intentional but sad kids still. It got to be that the kids stopped playing in the backyard and the neighbor kids couldn't come over without me outside too. It was a problem. We got a trainer. She was great but we just couldn't get it under control. As the weather got warmer, the kids wanted to be outside with Bella even less and Bella's behavior got worse. In hindsight, (and 50 episodes of The Dog Whisperer later) we were a terrible pack for that dog and could do so much better now, but at the time, we were doing the best we knew how. I decided it was best for everyone to get Bella a more suitable home and to give up the dream of having a dog to reclaim my yard. It was sad, hard, terrible, heartbreaking and pitiful the day we gave her away. Tears all around but I NEVER regretted it. Or even missed her for that matter. The kids, in their nostalgic way, missed her and had crying parties occasionally. I never looked back. No regrets.
So, the answer to my prayer... get a dog. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I had sworn off pets forever (especially after we had gone on a week vacation and forgotten about Connor's tiny pet frogs. The water in their jar evaporated and the frogs desiccated and it was the closest thing to frog jerky I'd ever seen when we got home.) Pets and I just didn't work out. I had too much going on.
But when I feel God speak to me, I listen. I had asked the question and clearly got an answer. I didn't know how to break the news to James... so I made a lunch date. Over lunch I sprung it on him. A dog. Now. You can imagine his surprise. When I said, Guess what? He never - even with a million guesses - would have guessed that one. His disbelief was apparent and comical. I told him I'd take care of it. No worries. It would be fine.
With his incredulous blessing, I started the search for THE dog. I did a full 24 hours of research, went to a petstore (where James tried to buy the wrong, very expensive poodle), called on several ads (all turned out to be puppy mills) and looked on craigslist. I found an ad on craigslist for Morkie puppies and called and went over right away. It was a small, dismal house by the cemetery in Mesa. The family owned the mom and the dad - who were both about as ugly a dog as there is... And there were 7 puppies. I spotted Jetta right away. I took pictures of her and left. I wasn't sold yet because if genetics were real, she had a high likelihood of being quite a mangy looking dog when grown.
So, I repeated the entire process - still not sure Jetta was the right pup for us. But I couldn't get her off my mind. I went back to craigslist to call about her again only to find their post had been removed. Dang. I started again. Pet store, calls, research, ads... And I couldn't get that puppy off my mind. So I checked craigslist again. The ad was back. (Come to find out, the puppy mill breeders kept flagging their post and having it removed to eliminate competition.) So, fortunately for me, the family still had ALL the puppies. I took the girls out of school and rushed to their house. I told the girls to pick out a puppy to see if God was really guiding me to that dog or if I was imagining it. (I test God occasionally like that.. though I don't recommend it.) Sure enough, Hailey went right to Jetta and picked her up and never put her down. We bought her right then and there.
This story is special to me because I see God's love in my life. For me. For James. For my children. He knows us and loves us and knew that, at that time, one of my children needed something very specific. A dog. That dog. Jetta has turned out to be the most amazing infusion of love in our family. She sleeps with Hailey every night, greets her at the door with boundless enthusiasm, keeps endless vigil over her when she is sick or sad and provides her something to love and care for. That doesn't even take into account the love affair that goes on between my husband and the dog... That's another story. But suffice it to say Jetta is adored by all. I trust her, love her and thank God every day for her.
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