Our Newest Family Member

It’s not every day you find your newest family member at a gas station, but that’s exactly what happened.

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“Mom? Dad? Our gas says “free (three)!” Baby Dude worriedly pointed out.

(He is such a little mini-me with his planning, organization, and logistical look at things. He keeps tabs on the gas reading for me, and shows concern about things from his analytical eye. It’s so sweet. He’s such a caretaker.)

We showed him the roadside sign that we were at our exit, with our local gas station on the corner. Once he saw the sign just ahead, he grinned a mile wide, relieved we wouldn’t run out of gas. (Is he NOT CUTE for worrying about that?) As soon as we turned in, we spotted the large collection of people out of their cars surrounding a vehicle on the side of the parking lot. In the center of this mass of people was a sweaty man holding a sign.

“Free puppies.”

(Actually, if I’m not mistaken, it read “Free puppys” which made my brain twitch.)

I’m not normally tempted by these people, I am not a fan of road-side breeders, but clearly these people weren’t breeders if they were giving them away for free. There was something about them, something about the puppies there being held by tons of people who came up to them. This was different, and I was curious. I decided to investigate and brought our dog-loving toddler with me while my husband went inside to prepay for gas.

And they were adorable, OMG!

She wasn’t even the first puppy we held. Originally, I held her sister, the runt of the littler, with speckled fur that looked just like the mama. But my husband freed my son from his car seat clutches (I guess he was pestering my husband to coe look at the dogs, too) after pumping gas and they joined us. Baby Dude gravitated to the meatier, tan puppy we now own, who nestled into his arms like she belonged with him. She sporadically licked him. He giggled. My husband and daughter seemingly liked her better, too.

It felt weird walking away with this precious puppy, separating her from her mother and siblings. I felt badly, but I knew we could give her a good home and love her greatly. Just because her birth was an accident didn’t mean we couldn’t give her a proper home and love her as part of our family.

And, boy howdy, do we ever!

It’s so funny – the kids had only been begging me forever for a dog. I’d wanted to wait, because I didn’t think Baby V was old enough. Little did I know how wrong I truly was.

Introducing to you the newest member of our family – Mystic!

puppy on outside toys We’re pretty sure she’s a Chihuahua/Border Terrier mix.

puppy fun outside She’s only ten weeks old, loves playing tug-of-war with stuffed animals, hiding in and wrestling with laundry piles, tucking herself into corners to curl up and chill out, and sitting on or near her human family.

outside She really loves sitting on the couch, getting her tummy rubbed, licking my Baby Dudes face, and hiding under cars away from the San Antonio sun. She isn’t a huge fan of dry dog food, and isn’t a fan of the dark (which makes nights super fun).

sitting up in the grass She also really likes sleeping with people next to or under her. This was (almost) how I found them Sunday morning. I guess my husband woke up with my daughter before me, decided to lay down on the couch (still tired), and the dog cuddled up with my husband in the crook of his arm (which is why my daughter fell back asleep there, so she could be close to her). She woke up when the rest of us came out and we seemingly disturbed her, because she moved to his legs, and promptly fell back asleep where you see her in the picture.

sleeping She didn’t care that I was taking pictures. The noise didn’t bother her, she was quite comfy.

new puppy That’s the “Oh wait, you’re here?” look she’s shooting Baby Dude, half-thinking about licking his face to bits, because he’s her playmate.