Meet Calhoun

We added a member to our family over the weekend. This is Calhoun. Cal for short.

This is Calhoun. Or as a friend of mine has named him, John C. Calhound. We just call him Cal.

See, my husband and I went out shopping for a lamp. And we got a lamp. A nice one. And we were satisfied our purchasing for the weekend was complete. And then we left the lamp store, walked through the plaza, and passed the table for the local animal shelter…and now we have a dog.

We were planning to get a dog at some point. Both of us grew up with dogs. Our kids like dogs. Our four-year-old had been hinting he wanted one for a while now. (And by hinting I mean he said to me every day, “Mommy, I want to get a dog.”) We just thought we’d wait a while longer. But then we saw Cal on the list of available pets.

Cal is a three-month-old golden retriever mix. The shelter wasn’t entirely sure what other breeds he may be, but the vet thinks he’s probably part border collie. The people at the pet store thought so too. After looking at pictures online, I think they might be right. Whatever he is, he’s cute and sweet and cuddly and is progressively catching on to the whole peeing outside thing. My husband is confident Cal will turn into a fine Frisbee dog.

Calhoun is the name given by the shelter. We aren’t in love it, but it’s growing on us. I know we can change it. In fact, we tried to. When my four-year-old son first saw the dog, he wanted to name him Jewel. Then we told my son Jewel is a better name for a girl doggy and didn’t he want to think of a boy doggy name instead? And then my four-year-old insisted we change the dog to be a girl so that we could name him Jewel. We told him it doesn’t work that way. Then he cried. Then he insisted we keep the name Calhoun. He said, “He’s got to be Calhoun forever, Mommy. He just has to.” I didn’t bother pointing out that just a few seconds ago he wanted Calhoun to undergo a sex-change for the sake of the name Jewel, because four-year-olds are fickle and by this time the two-year-old twins had picked up on the name and now it’s stuck.

Anyway we love him and the kids think he’s the best thing EVER. We’re looking forward to many years of fun and tennis balls with him.

If you’re thinking of adding a pet to your family, I highly suggest your local animal shelter. There are so many pets who need good, loving homes. And they’re all just as cute as Cal! Go to www.petfinder.com to see the cuties available in your area.