We’ve been talking about getting a family pet for years.

I was the hold out. I love pets, but after weighing everything I just didn’t feel a strong enough… want. Maybe my family pet cup had long ago runneth over?

Growing up, my house had three dogs, three cats, a cockateel, parakeets, a turtle, frogs, an entire plague worth of various rodent species, and enough fish to run a really questionable sushi restaurant for a year. I realize now, writing this, that I pretty much grew up in a domesticated zoo.

My wife, on the other hand, never had a dog. Discussing it, we knew that our son would love it, and that getting a dog would fill a little bit of the hole that comes from the want for another child. A child we decided we wouldn’t have. Though not in that too-far, creepy “furry baby” way, dressing them up and pushing them around in strollers and setting them in restaurant highchairs. We both agreed we wanted a dog, not to lose our minds.

She started researching dogs and found that “doodle” breeds (anything bred with a poodle, like a labrador=labradoodle, collie=cadoodle, etc.) are less allergenic and blah blah blah.

I said, “I don’t like poodles, but those breeds sound like donuts. I’m in.” And soon after we found someone with a 4-month-old bernedoodle that stole our hearts.

From pictures, we saw our lil’ poochie didn’t look like your typical bernedoodle, but even that had a certain maverick charm to an oddball family like ours. He was a rebel.

I started suggesting names like Lord Vader, Bacon, and Cujo. My son was suggesting things like Fart, Zombie Laser and Michael. We finally narrowed it down to three faves and then decided to put it to our readers here to decide with a vote!

Frodo Doggins was the winner, Indiana Bones was a close second, and Thunder was third. During the voting on Friday, it got a little prickly when our son revealed that Thunder was HIS favorite. Uh oh! I showed him some safe-for-kids scenes from The Lord of the Rings and he quickly became part of the Fellowship.

He even announced to us in serious tones, “I will take Frodo for walks, but I will not go anywhere near his poop, so I don’t even accidentally smell it and then go ‘peeyooo’!” Haha! Amazing.

My wife is totally in love, and Frodo shadows her from room to room (yes, even and especially in the bathroom). I’ve already started constructing a cape for him for Halloween and I’m also researching a name tag that can be engraved on a gold-colored ring for our furry ringbearer. Our son is having a blast alternately bossing him around and trying to get him to wag his tail.

Beyond the initial excitement of the newness, we can already see those comfy, everyday day moments that stitch the quilt of life’s memorable moments together. We’ve got someone else to say good morning to now (and get our shins wagging-tail whipped by). We’ve got someone else at the dinner table (even if he’s underneath it or peering cutely over its edge). We’ve got a new player on the team when we’re playing in the yard together (though he plays by his own hilarious, random rules).

He’s part of our family.

This is #HowWeFamily now. A whole lot happier, and a little bit fluffier, well… judging by the size of his puppy paws, soon to be quite a bit fluffier. He’s gonna be a big boy!
 

 
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