Our newest pack member

[EL-Ziggy]

I don't really know what I was thinking at the time. It just sort of spilled out of my mind and mouth. About 2 months ago I watched the movie A Dog's Purpose with Dennis Quaid. I also think we had seen one or more of the Beethoven movies recently. Anyway, I impulsively blurted out to my GF that we should get a dog for our 10 y/o son. He's an only child and it'll be good for him I reasoned. He'll have a constant playmate and it'll teach him more responsibility. Tekey had always said no to the idea of dogs before. She said the same thing about my snakes in the early days too. I figured it'd be no different this time and we'd go back to business as usual. To my surprise she asked a follow up question. "What kind of dog would we get?" she asked. I hadn't thought that far ahead but quickly threw out the names of a few breeds we'd kept when I was a child. Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Pitbulls. She quickly dismissed the Rottweiler and Dobermans but said she liked boxers. I liked them too but had never kept one, didn't know much about them, and wasn't really that crazy about them. The next thing I know she calls in Elijah and asks him if he wants a dog. "I'd love a dog!" he replied. I explained to him the pros and cons of having a dog and he insisted he was up for the challenge. I guess that made it unanimous. An impusive, off the cuff remark on my part, had snowballed into all out excitement from the two of them. I thought/hoped the fervor would die down down over the next few days/weeks but every day they were talking more and more about our new dog. I reached out to a buddy of mine who judges at and produces dog shows and asked him to let me know if he came across any nice pit puppies. I explained that I wasn't looking for a show dog, only a pet and family protection dog. He sent out a message to his friends on FB and I received several replies over the next few days. I kept asking the family if they were sure about this whole dog thing and every time they both exclaimed that they were. One time my son did say he'd take a rabbit or gerbil and be just as happy. I told him those animals are snake food around here, not pets. Over the next two weeks we narrowed our choices to 3 contenders. Their first choice was my third choice and vice versa. I wanted the more gamey lilac male. They wanted the cute one with the floppy ears which I stated would be clipped immediately. We each had the same 2nd pick and everyone said it was a compromise we could all agree on. I reached out to the seller and finalized the details. The current owner is bringing this beautiful girl to us on Sunday. She even gave us the option to foster the dog for 2 weeks to see if it's a good fit before we have to pay her. The pups name is Dior and we may keep or change that. She's a 7 month old American Staffordshire Terrier with an interesting history. She's originally from Italy and was imported to the U.S.. I guess she's not a perfect show dog but I know she'll make a wonderful addition to our family. She's been described to us as playful, energetic, sweet, and goofy . Sunday can't get here soon enough.

Dior:




Mom:


Dad: