Stella

I would like to introduce you to Stella, our brand new used dog.

I've always wanted a dog. It was part of my master plan. In the way that some girls dream about their wedding day, I dreamed about having a dog. In high school my friend and I had a saying: just a dog and a house. We felt those two things alone would bring us the best kind of happiness. We weren't too worried about boys. We didn't feel that they were necessary. A bonus, maybe. But not necessary. We've both adjusted our plan to include one very special boy but she's had a dog for a lot longer than me. I never gave up on having a dog but it became a more abstract part of the plan.

Then last week, out of the blue, the way these kinds of things always come out of the blue, we were introduced to Shankley. He is one of the best dogs I've ever met. He came from the shelter and wouldn't you know it, there were two more sweet little beagles just sitting at the shelter waiting for a good home. It turns out that I have no personal restraint and I zoomed out to the shelter the very next day. That was pretty much it. I was smitten. The rest of the family came with me the day after that and there was no going back. We were all smitten.

We picked her up today and she's perfect.