Today marks 5 years of having our dog, Conan! Most people don't know the story of how we got our sweet dog, so I thought it would be fun to share. =)
We were in our first year of marriage and I was spending way too many hours on the couch lesson planning alone while Trent was at work. I knew that I wanted a dog. I started to do what I do best...researching! I discovered two breeds of dogs that I thought would be perfect for us - the Bolognese and the Havanese. Both breeds were lap dogs (a must), fluffy, white, cute, smart, and required little exercise. The last one was really important for us since we lived in a (mind you NOT dog friendly) apartment. I researched for fun, knowing that it would be a while before we got a dog. We needed to move first!
It was a rainy St. Patrick's Day (5 years ago today). We headed to the mall to get out of the house. There was a pet store in the mall. In my research I had read all about puppy mills and pet stores and how you should never, ever buy a dog from there. You should rescue your dog or buy them from a breeder. But since neither of us had ever interacted with a Bolognese or Havanese, we thought we would "further our research" by seeing if either breed was at the store. We wanted a chance to interact with the breed before purchasing or rescuing one!
To our surprise, this pet store had a brand new litter of Havanese puppies. They were eight weeks old. They took us to a back room where we could play with them. They only had girls. They were cute, but not at all the way I had read about them online. The Internet told me all about how smart they are, how they play games on their own, interact, and basically pretend they're humans. All these puppies did was poop in front of us. Trent doubted all my research findings and we told the worker we weren't interested. As she put them back in their kennels, she told us about a Havanese puppy they had on clearance.
He was 5 months old, and his entire litter was sold as Christmas gifts. He was all alone in his kennel. She didn't know why nobody wanted him, but since he was "old" they had him in the back of the store, right next to the hallway. She asked if we wanted to see him. When we walked by his kennel, he was laying upside down, all four paws in the air. We laughed and he turned his head and stuck out his tongue! She took us to the "play room" with the clearance dog, and he instantly crawled into Trent's lap. He was so sweet and snuggly!! Then she started, "Since he's on clearance, if you take him, we will throw in the crate, the puppy pads, a month's worth of dog food, dog treats, a leash, a collar, a brush, shampoo, and you can pick out some toys for him, too." We NEVER planned to get a dog that day, let alone buy from a *gasp* pet store!!! But we couldn't put him back in that glass kennel alone! He was way too sweet. Trent said "We'll take him." My jaw dropped to the floor. I was so excited, but in typical lauren fashion, so worried at the same time. I mean, our apartment forbid pets! "Eh, we've been wanting to move anyway!" Trent replied.
We took our little homeless clearance dog to my parent's house. I immediately set up a grooming appointment because his hair was a hot mess! I'm pretty sure they never brushed it or bathed him in all those five months. We got him professionally groomed and he was cuter than ever.
Everything I read about Havanese online was true! He literally plays fetch with himself (it's hysterical). He was fairly easy to housetrain/crate train, and he learned commands very quickly. He can sit, lay down, rollover, and give you a high five. He likes to go on walks, but if you take him too far, he will literally lay down and not move and you have to carry him home. And yes, he thinks he is human. #couchhog
For years we didn't tell people we got him at a pet store. Who needs shameful comments in their life?! Not us! But one day I realized, we did rescue him. We rescued him from the pet store! ;-)
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