The Conversion

I have never been an animal lover. Or not since I was four years old and my parents took me to a Christmas parade, in the crowd there was a dog on a leash who decided to attack me and bite me in the belly. Needless to say, I missed the parade and went to the hospital.

From that time until about third grade, I had little contact with dogs and when I did, I was terrified of them. When I was about ten years my Mom and Dad decided that we needed a dog. There were a couple through my teenage years who lived with us and I did not like them. I really wasn't afraid, just thought they were a nuisance and messy. I had a cat I loved for a while until she pooped in my bed.

In the ensuing years there were dogs of friends I could tolerate and even liked. My best friend from about third grade until middle school had a St. Bernard named Gretel. She was a sweetheart. As I entered adulthood there wasn't a dog that made an impression on me.

I married into a family of dog lovers ironically. I slept in my in-laws home with a eighty pound Collie in between my new husband and myself. I hated it. Poor Missy had an eating disorder (she couldn't stop) and died a few years later. Then they all became lovers of a breed which I will not name as not to offend anyone. They are small, annoying, destructive and have trouble with potty training.

The first one of them came into our lives a few weeks before we purchased a room full of furniture for $500. It was 1982 and this new addition to our family belonging to my brother-in-law waltzed into our apartment, lifted his leg and peed on my new sofa. My brother-in-law thought it was cute and funny. I will never forgive him for that. These little darlings are still a part of the family.

I did encounter dogs of friends, family and neighbors during this time who were tolerable and sometimes enjoyable. I was a runner then and also encountered those who liked to chase and growl at me. Dogs could not win my heart. I heard the tales of the costs of taking care of them, saw shoes eaten, carpets destroyed and totally opted out. Then as my daughter approached her tenth birthday she decided that since all her friends had one, she needed a puppy. Always one to spoil my children, we went shopping. Along the way I filled her head with such propaganda as you will have to feed it , bathe it and walk your new pet each day. Her tenth birthday present was not a live dog.

Over ten years later, a dog in our immediate family became imminent as our son was about to marry a woman who was adamant that they have a dog. My husband and I were told that there would be an adoption of an eight year old Lhasa Apso with one eye. My first thought was "I am going to have to let this animal come into my home, sleep, poop in the yard and wipe her butt on our rugs". I was about to have a dog in my house who would bark, destroy our things and be a general pain in the neck. Of course, pleasing my future daughter-in-law was more important, so I knew that I would have to learn to live with the visits.

Then I met Tasha for the first time and fell head over heels in love. My first experience with love at first sight. She is classy, sophisticated and beautiful. She barks when the doorbell rings, she doesn't shed, doesn't jump up on you and has never peed on our floor. She has pooped when she was new to visiting our home she came in and we all went out to dinner. We turned on the security system, she activated it and it scared the you know what out of her. Who could get mad at her for that?

Tasha's image is now the screen saver for my computer, cell phone and my camera is full of her pictures. There are friends and family members who continue to be shocked when I whip out a photo. I actually go to Pet Smart and have a rewards card. When I babysit for her I refuse to go anywhere without her. I guess I am the extreme late bloomer when it comes to dogs. I just had to find the right one. Thank you new daughter-in-law.