I awoke early one morning two weeks before Christmas with a strong prompting:

Check Craigslist.

No way, I thought, not first thing in the morning. I slipped on a robe and slippers, shuffled into my big comfy chair, and settled in for quiet time with God.

Check Craigslist.

This is ridiculous. We weren’t seriously looking for another dog. My husband and I considered the possibility a week earlier, but hadn’t spoke about it since. Our older Chihuahua/Shitzu, Sammy, kept getting injured playing with our two year old Chiweenie, Bella. We thought  a younger, energetic puppy might be a good playmate for Bella, and give Sammy a break. We’d joked that a male version of her would be ‘just desserts’ for our Tasmanian-like female.

Check Craigslist.

Ok, fine—I’ll take a quick look, then get on with my morning.

Craigslist: Bakersfield: Pets: The tenth entry from the top stated: “Chiweenie male puppy, 8 weeks old, picture attached.” No way!

Click.

Cuteness personified.

My heart leapt! Without thought I ran outside to find my husband.

Across the yard Jack looked up from his coffee. I stood griping the iPad with a silly grin. He asked, “What?” His eyebrows raised. “A puppy?”

I nodded, dumb with hope.

He took one look at the pic of the little guy, and sighed. “Go ahead.”

Oscar pup joined our pack and stole our hearts. He’s a sweet, loving, feisty little dude. Our house echoes as he and Bella tear over hardwood floors chasing each other tug-a-warring with toys. Sammy’s been elevated to grandpa status and keeps the pup in his place, but I often find them snoozing together cozied up on the big dog bed.

Puppies are a lot of work—but so is blogging. The end results of both, however, are absolutely worth the trouble.

Oscar is our third dog, this is my third blog.

I can’t wait to see what happens next!