A Dog Named Sal

I don't consider myself to be a die hard animal/pet person. I did have a parakeet (I taught him how to say "pretty bird") and gerbils (once, one of them bit my thumb and woudln't let go) while growing up, but I could never have a cat or dog because I am allergic to them. Anytime I was in the presence of a cat or dog, my eyes would swell shut, hives would appear on my skin, and I would have trouble breathing. After a couple years of allergy shots, my symptoms were slightly improved. Now that I'm older, I think I have a lot more tolerance built up, and I usually don't have serious allergy problems any more. I still don't think we could have a shedding dog or a cat in our house though. This has caused some frustration with my kids and sometimes my husband. His dog of choice would be a Husky.

For years my son has asked if we could get a dog. He loves them so much. He begs and pleads with us to let him get one. He tells us how responsible he'll be with it. I know he would do a good job, and we have considered adopting a non-shedding dog in the past, but I know it would be that much more work. There would also be a lot of expenses involved. I don't think I want to deal with all that.

So in the meantime, the kids enjoy our neighbor's dog, Sally ;-) She is so sweet, and the kids love her! Whenever Sally's family has to go away for an extended period of time, they will ask Drake to come over and take her out to do her business and go for a little walk. The past couple times, the kids asked if they could let her in our house for a little while. She doesn't shed, and I have never had any allergy trouble being around her, so we let her in. It was odd to have an animial in our house, since we never really have. It was fun to watch what she did. If we ever get a dog, it will have to be like Sally.

The kids put a hat on her and took this picture. Isn't she cute!?