So much for taking it slow

We went out for a family dinner at Noodles and Company ( Thanks, Aunt Meg!!!!) and somehow found ourselves in front of a crate-full of the sweetest puppies! But wait. There's that logical part of my brain again- we were gonna take it slow and really plan out what kind of dog would be best for our family. Isn't that the best way? After all, adding a dog to the family is just like adding any other member of the family. The decision needs to be handled with care...

But HOW can you say no to THIS:


You just CAN'T. Especially when you already have a pretty red collar ( that looks so good on black puppy dogs) and a fuzzy stuffed animal with no one to chew it.

So we eagerly went through the adoption process ( again), this time sure a puppy was the way to go. And since I am " frugal" and we already had a brand new, super fashionable collar tag that proudly proclaimed " Elliot Long", we recycled the name and welcomed " Ellie" ( again) into the family. She is a border collie/lab mix and she is just adorable.

Though I couldn't say " no" to Ellie that day, I have easily said it a million times since.

" NO! Peeing in the house!"

"No chewing!"

" No eating your own....'waste' " quickly followed by " NO licking my face!"

Mackenzie and Ellie have a love/hate relationship. Mack doesn't like chasing Ellie around trying to reclaim her toys and she doesn't like when Ellie plays to rough or tries to steal her snack. But she loves having a tireless puppy to chase around and play with .

The good news- Ellie is afraid of the cats. The cats like that. Things are well.
Ellie is doing great with potty training and is already trained to her crate during the night and while we're out. The stray toy kidnapping and cat food stealing....that's a work in progress.