A Tale of a Puppy

Someone was asking me today how I ended up getting Belle. If you have already heard this story, my apologies.

Ever since I met Chris I was constantly telling him how much I had always wanted a dog. And he was always telling me he was allergic to dogs. This made me sad cause I was thinking...."I really like this guy, but man I want a dog." lol. Anyways we had been dating for 6 months and Chris took me out to dinner in Seattle. Afterwards we were walking around Seattle Center which is where the Space Needle and stuff is. Chris turns to me and says "you know, I have never been to the top of the Space Needle do you want to go?" Now me being terrified of elevators AND heights my immediate answer was NO. I mean really, how on earth did he think he was going to get me in an elevator that is on the OUTSIDE of the building with glass windows. So we sat there and looked up for a while and finally he says "would you go up there with me if I promised you that you can get a puppy someday?" This really got me thinking, but I was convinced that if I agreed and did it that he was not serious. That would have sucked. lol. After a long time (at least an hour) of sitting and thinking and shaking I was so scared I finally said ok. He kept asking me if I was sure and I just said "don't give me a chance to change my mind." We bought our tickets and there was no turning back once I stepped foot on the elevator. I was terrified...and the cheesy jokes from the elevator dude didn't help. Sorry buddy but "this is a great job, but it has its ups and downs" is NOT funny. We got to the top and I was so glad I went, it was beautiful, the view was amazing. However when we got back on the ground I was darn near kissing it.

On Valentines Day 2004, 6 months before we got married...Chris says to me "wanna get a puppy?" Just out of the blue like that, I thought he was kidding because I was certain he was not going to let me get a dog till long after we were married. I figured he would put it off as long as possible. Anyways he was like "i'm serious," when I finally realized he was I got so freaking excited. Immediately I went on petfinder.com and started looking around. We had decided that whenever we did get our first dog that we would adopt one. So after about 5 minutes I came across Belle's 'ad.' I fell in love with her immediately and I said to Chris THIS IS THE ONE I WANT. He agreed that she was pretty darn cute. So we called the shelter where she was to see if they still had her. Of course they did. So the next day we drove a few hours to a place in Eastern Washington to see her. She was so cute and she looked so scared sitting in her kennel. It was a no brainer, we knew the minute we saw her that she was the one we wanted. And that was that....we paid for her and came back two days later to pick her up after she was sent to the vet for shots and to be fixed and stuff.

Annabelle was actually the name they had given her at the pound, we liked it so we decided to keep it. She was about 10 months old when we got her and we have enjoyed every moment. She has her issues (she doesn't get a long with other dogs), she is hyper and super energetic. But we love it. I wouldn't trade her in for any dog.

And I must point out that Chris who was NOT a dog person before we got her is such a huge dog person now. He even calls me when he is driving to tell me about "the cute dog he saw hanging out a car window" or "the cute dog he saw being walked". haha.....and let me tell you Belle is definitely a daddy's girl, she adores him. She even bites her nails just like dad. lol