Sir Watson

I grew up with dogs, always. My parents has a German Shepherd when I was born (Beuhlah) so I was basically raised by one. She was fiercely protective of me, yet I could yank her ears and clobber her with toys and she would never let out the quietest growl. After Beuhlah died, we adopted a little mutt from the pound. Well, my mom did. Let's just say my dad was more than a little surprised when we came home from errands with a dog :) Then we had a Rottweiler named Rosie, and now there's Roxy the Rottie. I don't think there was ever a period longer than a few months when I lived without a pup!

A few months after Brian and I got married, after getting all settled in, I felt like something was missing from our condo. I quickly hatched a plan in my head...CLEARLY it was because we needed a canine companion. Brian grew up with no pets other than a bunny, so he wasn't so hot on the idea at first :)

One Friday, I got it in my head to visit PAWS in Lynnwood, just to look of course. We met with the receptionist, and I explained our ideal dog: older, so we didn't have to deal with puppy pottytraining and energy, good with dogs, good with kids, and not a little yippy thing. She said we definitely should meet a dog named Watson.

Brian and I waited outside in a fenced-in area for a volunteer to bring this pup out to meet us. When he was let off his leash, he wandered right over to me and leaned on my leg. I love lean-y dogs :) He was gentle when I gave him a treat, and was so sad when the volunteer took him back into the kennels. 

After meeting two more dogs, we walked toward the door to the front of the building. When we walked past Watson's kennel, he jumped up, tail wagging, and waiting for us to open the door and get him. We kept walking. We were going out of town the next weekend, and I didn't think it was fair to adopt a dog then leave him with my parents for three days a week later! When we rounded the corner, Watson stood up on his hind legs as tall as he could, and cried. He was watching us as we left, but I just couldn't justify adopting a dog only to confuse him the next weekend. Brian and I decided that if he was still at PAWS when we returned, we would go get him.

Well, that was a nice thought. That night, both Brian and I had dreams about this mutt Watson. We decided the next morning that waiting a week was too risky - we needed to adopt this dog STAT. I got ready lickety-split and immediately began calling PAWS so I could place Watson on a hold until we got up to Lynnwood. I couldn't get a hold of anyone there, and I was beginning to panic. I thought we were going to miss out on this wonderful dog and I was so sad.

Brian finally pulled into the parking lot, and I did not even wait for him to park before I jumped out, Brian yelling "RUN!" behind me. PAWS was having an adoption event that day, and no one else could adopt MY Watson. 

I burst in the front door and said "I'm here for Watson!"

Yeah. Just like that. Imagine Mario bursting into Bowser's castle..."I'M HERE FOR THE PRINCESS!" Not my proudest moment, but hey, I wanted this dog rullll bad.

The receptionist stared at me for a second, baffled. I asked if Watson was still there. I was so relieved when she said "....Yes...?" Poor woman.

We filled out some paperwork, and boom, we had our Watson. He basically dragged me out of PAWS because he was so excited to leave that place. They do amazing work and take such loving care of their animals in the shelter, but for a dog who's been living with a family his whole life, it's rough.

So, that's the story of how we became dog people :D

A picture from the day we adopted him last October :)