Okay, so when my parents first got married their first addition to the family was a precious blond Cocker Spaniel named Missy. About a year after Missy, I came along. Missy was my big sister and without a doubt a member of the family. She went on trips with us, slept in the bed with me, stole my food, let me play dress up with her, etc. I barely have any Christmas or birthday pictures without a long blond nose peeking from the corner ready to pounce were I to receive a gift of say, dog bones......I grew up with Missy and she was my sister until she died when I was fourteen years old. We got other Spaniels after her but none ever compared to Missy.
Logically, when Brett and I first got married my first assumption was that we would get our very own Missy. I mean...who doesn't like dogs, right? Who could not want a Missy? My husband, that's who! How could it be? I fell in love with a puppy hater. What kind of person hates puppies? What does this say about the kind of person he is! Well the first few months I begged and pleaded....with zero success. Pretty much the answer I got was .....if we got a dog it would put a huge strain on our marriage because he was so extremely against it. This was just totally unacceptable to me. I mean it just isn't possible that I could marry someone that wouldn't want 2.5 kids and a DOG! He was trying to squash my dreams and I was not having it! Well just around the corner was my 30th birthday.....it's a big one right? What kind of husband wouldn't want to do something special for his wife's 30th? When Brett finally started asking what I wanted......well I told him I really wanted a puppy and nothing else....he kept on asking....nothing, just a puppy and if I'm not getting a puppy then I don't want anything. A week before my birthday an email from one of Brett's friends came across our list serve at work that read.......
"I am posting this for a friend that lives here in Hattiesburg. .....She has a pure bred, male toy Maltese puppy for sale ..... The puppy is one of a litter of four. The mother Maltese is 7 lbs and the male Maltese was 5 lbs. The puppy has been de-wormed, has received its first set of shots, and has had its dew claws removed. He is 8 weeks old and ready for a great loving home......A Maltese is one of the smallest breeds of dogs and is very polite with people. They are one of the brightest and most playful of the toy breeds and have a coat that does not shed.......
Thanks" with this picture attached.....
Oh my! I knew nothing about a Maltese but when I saw this picture my heart melted and I knew I was going to have this puppy. I immediately contacted them and told them not to sell the puppy that I would be by that night to see it. I spent the rest of the day researching the breed and loved everything about them. They are hypoallergenic, which is perfect for me and they don't shed....which was Brett's #1 argument on NOT getting a dog. Suprisingly enough, because it was his friends, Brett went willingly to look at the puppy. We got there and the puppies were, of course, exceptionally adorable and after being there for about five minutes, Brett looked at me and said....."Are you sure you want him?" I knew he would never ask me this in front of them unless he wanted him too. So, he handed over a check and two days later we picked up our precious new addition to our family.
Within a day or so of having Einstein it was obvious he had accepted the fact that I was his new mommy. I was 'mom' and Brett was Einstein's favorite over-sized toy. Brett was the fun one and I was the disciplinarian....not a big shocker there......it is definitely how I always expected it to be once we had kids....I just didn't realize it would be that way with the dog too. Over the first few weeks Einstein did push a wedge in between Brett and I. I began to be resentful of how unhelpful he was and how he didn't seem to be sympathetic of my feelings for this dog. Brett would remind me....he's just a dog. Which is exactly what I didn't need to hear. (I realize he is 'just a
dog' but for now...he's my only child and I can't help how much I love the little guy.) I started questioning if I wanted to have kids with this man who was so uncompassionate. Yes, I actually questioned it!! Looking back, it's pretty embarrassing but at the time Einstein seemed so small and helpless, my maternal instinct just kicked in overdrive. I didn't want to go anywhere without him and I constantly worried about him. (I know any moms reading this are thinking 'you just wait'. Trust me, I KNOW!!!! This is why I don't have kids yet.) Anyway, when Einstein was about 3 or 
4 months old, I had to go on a trip for work. As I was going over all of Einstein's instructions my husband actually suggested having my parents keep Einstein instead of him! Yes, he did! He didn't even want to keep our own dog by himself. After convincing him that this was not an option, I said my goodbyes and left my boys on their own for five days. I left our dog and his unwilling owner and came back to a man and his best friend. It took me being out of the way and Brett being the sole caregiver to make him really step up as a 'puppy parent' and fall in love with this white ball of fur. (I am hoping this is a life lesson I will remember when we do have kids!!!) Brett immediately starting fretting over Einstein just as bad as me and really started to take an interest in his training and well-being. He is now an amazing 'puppy daddy' and has completely erased my fears of making the transition into REAL parenthood with him. The team work in raising and training Einstein has definitely brought us closer together. He is doing a wonderful job of 
preparing us for the real thing! 
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