It's love at first sight

I fell in love yesterday. True, absolute, can't get enough of it love. I looked into his big, adoring eyes and I know he felt the same way. And even though he tried to teeth on my fingers, I didn't mind - they were love bites. He barked mournfully as I slowly walked away, telling myself repeatedly not to look back.

I looked back. I always do.

The thing is, I need a puppy. It's not a want or a desire, it's a need. A can't get it out of my mind, find myself daydreaming about it while trying to type, basic need.

I grew up with a puppy. We got Oreo when I was around seven on my brother's fourth birthday. My mom took us to her friend's house, saying only that there was a surprise waiting for us. There, in a basket against the wall in this strange bedroom, sat around six puppies. Justin and I squealed with delight. We chose Oreo out of them because he was the smallest and was the first to immediately run and hide under the bed. Justin found this hilarious. I distinctly remember showing my dad once he came home from work. Running at him with this tiny ball of black and white fur in my hands, I pushed the puppy in his face. I learned then that my dad had no clue we were getting a puppy. 

I named him Oreo after my favorite cookie and due to the fact that he was black and white. My mom added Chip as a middle name because he had brown on the top of his head. Justin then added Codfish because he really liked Peter Pan. We ended up mostly calling him "Or" for short.  

After he passed away two years ago, my family felt lost. We were struck with the lost and took some time to recover. You don't realize how much a pet means to you until their gone. 

For Chanukah, we got my mom Jetta. After months of searching on craigslist for a reliable breeder, a nice woman e-mailed me about her Shih Tzu puppies. That weekend my dad and I secretly went there and immediately fell in love with the puppies. There were two of them, one black and white and one tan. We took the former, in honor of Oreo. Rather than hiding him until the holiday, we surprised my mom at work. She cried, we cried and the puppy peed on the store's floor. We drove him to his new house after that; he slept on my lap the entire way home. 

Jetta is my baby. I potty trained him and helped him learn how to walk on a leash. He's protective of me, waiting by the door for me to return whenever I go out. The big problem lies in the fact that I don't live with him anymore. Since I'm living with friends, around thirty minutes away, I don't get to see his hairy face every morning, feel his rough paw hitting my face to wake me up.

And this is why I need a puppy. One of my own. To cuddle and train and love. 

In my currently situation, I clearly can't afford one. Plus, I don't want to get one until Samir and I are living together. But still, the need is there. And with the cats walking around our house, acting as if they own the place, I can only dream about the day I'll have something that'll chase them and make them pay for leaving hair balls on my bed. 

I kid. Kind of.

So yesterday when I stupidly went to the pet store, I fell in love with a miniature Schnauzer. He was small, gray, and fuzzy.  His little paws clung tight to me as I held him up, signaling that I shouldn't ever let go. He licked my hand to say goodbye and I think I might have even saw a tear. He's still there waiting for me, I'm sure. Tonight as I fall asleep, I'll think of the one that got away, and he'll probably think about food.

Ah well. It was love at first sight. I'll have a puppy of my own one day. As for now, I'll buy Jetta another holiday present because he deserves it. He is a good boy, after all.