For those who know me sort of well, the title to this post will come as a big shock. Why? Well, up until about four years ago I was the most disinterested dog person you would ever meet. I had zero interest or intention of ever getting a dog. EVER. Sam was the same way. We were both equally passionate about never owning a dog. Years ago we actually swore to each other (like, a for real OATH) that we would never get a dog. For those who know me really well, however, you already know we have been planning this for awhile. Okay, but back to the never having a dog thing. We were adamant about never getting a dog.

However…

Things changed gradually starting about four years ago. Our good friends (who we are now related to by marriage) have a black lab named Mia who was trained to be a service dog. Her behavior and manners are almost impeccable. We spent a lot of time with them over the years and a lot of time around Mia. Our kids spent a lot of time with Mia. Then one day our friends needed to go out of town and wondered where the dog could go (we were watching their daughters at the time) and I suggested that we take Mia. We had her with us for a week and it was an education. By the time the week was up and she went home, Sam and I looked at each other and both said that we missed her. What the heck? We have since had her with us many more times in our house and we just became really comfortable with the whole dog thing.

Then we had an amazing experience in the Sahara Desert, Morocco in 2015 where we spent part of a morning with a stray dog. You can read a little about that experience here. It hit me to my core; I am certain that the dog and I knew each other and he just changed something in my soul. I was hooked. I still think about him weekly. He was the most regal dog I have ever come across. It was amazing. We came home from that trip to Morocco and admitted to each other that perhaps someday we could see ourselves adopting a dog.

Fast forward to about eight months ago. We decided we were ready to move forward with a dog and narrowed down the specifics of what we were looking for in our new family member. We would only consider adoption. Absolutely no breeders or stores. Adopt don’t shop, right?! We needed a dog that was hypo allergenic and did not shed. The dog needed to be on the smaller side, 30 pounds or less but not too small. Needed to be good around the kids and trainable. And so we waited and searched and waited and looked and waited and thought and waited.

Ten days ago Sam and I went on a Saturday date to a shelter about 30 minutes from our house. We knew that this shelter housed a large number of dogs and usually had a good number of smaller dogs as well. We spent two hours at the shelter and identified four dogs that we were interested in learning more about. None had been released for adoption yet because they were still in the mandatory five day hold period for strays that come into the shelter. We identified a poodle mix, two terriers and a Shiz Tsu. We ranked them in that order with the poodle first. The poodle was my immediate choice as soon as I saw her. She was about one year old and came into the shelter as a stray with no tags and no chip. She appeared to be a poodle mix. Further inspection looked like she was a cockapoo with something else mixed in.

She had a sweet face and seemed to have a sweet disposition. Just a feeling I had. We had to wait until the following Tuesday to find out if the poodle would still be available and if others were on the list to see her. Tuesday came and we were number one on the list to spend time with her. We checked Sadie out of school to come with us to the shelter because we wanted to see how the dog would interact with a little kid. We spent about 30 minutes with the dog and a handler from the shelter. She was SO DARN CUTE. Her sweetness and playfulness came through.

We decided to take the leap of faith and adopt her. I signed the papers with a silly grin on my face like “What the heck? How is this even happening?!?!?!”. We had to wait two more days for her to be spayed and micro chipped and then she would be available to bring home on Friday. We named her Bebe Beignet Turbo #8. BB8 for short (but we usually just call her Bebe). And no, we are not Star Wars freaks; we just really liked the BB8 alliteration and chose her first name years ago :).

The Tuesday night after we signed her adoption papers, we went as a family to PetSmart and purchased a million things for our new dog. The kids were losing their minds with excitement and glee and anticipation. Really, one of the best parts of this whole journey has been seeing them SO excited about their dog. That night at the pet store was overwhelming and tiring and fun. Also, Petsmart is pretty awesome. They have an adoption booklet full of coupons that they give to adoptive parents and it saved us a bundle. Plus the people who work there are incredibly helpful and caring. We had a really good experience working with them and so I keep returning there again and again; they have my business! Sam spent the evening putting together her crate and we started figuring out where she could sleep, where we would put her things. Basically we were like new parents, nesting and waiting for their baby to come home.

I took Seb and Sophie back to the shelter the next afternoon because they had not had a chance to see her yet (Simon couldn’t come because of a track meet). While we were there a news crew from NBC11 Bay Area was filming in the shelter for a special that night and asked to interview me and film the kids with Bebe. It was so much fun. Bebe was famous before she even left the shelter! I will try to find the clip and insert it here 🙂

It poured on Friday. Like…POURED. It was probably the least ideal day to bring home a new dog but Stubberts are troopers and we figured it out. Sam went to the shelter to get Bebe and then immediately took her to the vet for a full checkup. She came home at about 4:00 PM on Friday afternoon and as soon as Sam walked her in the door tears sprang into my eyes. The kids, especially our older two were overwhelmed with happiness. Everything was new to Bebe and everything was new to us. We were kind of figuring it all out together and it was a crazy afternoon/evening.

Bebe has now been home for five days and it seems like she was always here. It feels like I’ve always known her, like she was always supposed to be a part of our family. We are working out a bunch of stuff like getting her fully house trained (the pee situation on the kitchen floor is still not coming together) and we are starting dog training classes next week. She is cleared to get bathed and go to the groomers as early as this weekend so we are really excited about that. We have a ways to go before she is allowed into the carpeted parts of our house but for now she has a large backyard and kitchen to play in and get adjusted to.

Bebe interacts with each one of us differently. She was not terribly interested in me in the shelter but as soon as she got home I think she knew I was her mom. She is cuddly with me and eager to please. She has such a sweet little face and is full of energy and joy. She is a HAPPY pup and is friendly to people and animals alike. She is curious and cautious but not overly timid or scared. She is pretty awesome at playing fetch and really likes it when I squat down and rub her belly and her chin. She loves her kennel and her pink baby blanket. She is way more interested in toys than in food and slurps up huge quantities of water.

I don’t know where Bebe came from and we probably never will. I have no idea what her life was like before we met her at the shelter. Adoption is such a leap of faith that way, for both Bebe and for us. She clearly needs and wants to be in a family and seems to be so happy with us. I love that sweet dog. I’m so glad Bebe is now a Stubbert :).