Our first addition to the Cassell Clan.....

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.