Tess the dog

Gunnar loves dogs. Particularly labs. He has wanted a lab the whole time we have been married, but up till the last year, we lived in the city with little to no yard, so we didn't feel like it would be fair to a big dog to be couped up all day. We did have a dog, as most of you will remember, Guapo, who served us faithfully as a little companion, until Grace came along and he got booted from the family.

So since moving to this house, Gunnar has dreamed of the day when he would once again be a proud black lab owner. Well, ladies and gentlemen, his dreams have finally come true. He fixed the fencing on our property last week, so this week we were good to go.

In all honesty, I am not a huge dog fan. Of all dogs, I particularly dislike big dogs, as there is more of them to dislike. I will admit, that I did love Guapo, but after all the trauma involved with getting rid of him, I have vowed not to make a similar mistake. So I have been reluctant to take to dog plunge again.

Nevertheless, knowing that a dog means so much to my husband, I have been diligently praying that God would lead us to the perfect dog for our family.

Of course God is so faithful. I love that He knows what is perfect for our situation. A couple weeks ago, we had looked at a dog. It was well trained, but still really into playing fetch and REALLY excited to see us. We would have gone with this dog, but the owners decided to go with someone else who had a much better sob story.

So this week we found another dog on Craigslist. Unlike the last dog, who was from an expensive neighborhood in the city, this dog has lived her life on a ranch in the country. She is used to sleeping outside, and has been trained to be a "old country dog." She isn't that much older than the first dog, but is a lot more mellow, and you can tell has been treated like a dog, not a part of the family. In other words, instead of jumping up between you and the person you are trying to talk to, she just stands there are waits hoping you will pet her. Also, having been raised on a ranch, so could care less about the chickens or the cats.

So what do you know? God knows best. He found us a female black lab (what Gunnar wanted) and a dog that will stay out of my way, not annoy our guest or knock over small children (what I wanted). So we are all happy. Except for the cats. They have not known what to make of her.