All my life I have wanted a cat.  Two cats, actually.  I dreamed about the day when I had my own house and the two cats that I would have.  I’d even chosen names.  Well, then I met the man I would later marry, we bought a house, and got a cat.  And my husband was REALLY allergic.  The cat was quickly given to a friend, and that was that. We were a pet free household.

Well, the girls have been asking for a pet for years and years and years.  I resisted, as I really didn’t want another responsibility.  However, I can see what a lovely thing pet ownership can be.  Since the girls are now older and more responsible, and there is currently an adult at home full-time, we thought that the timing was right.  So let me introduce Buzz!

Buzz is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel crossed with Shih Tzu, and is six and a half years old.  We adopted him from the Lost Dogs Home, so we don’t really know his story from the last six and a half years.  He came to us on Wednesday, and has very quickly become part of our family.

Now I’ll admit that I know very little about dogs and dog ownership.  I’ve never been what people refer as a “dog person”.  My husband has never had a pet (well, in his bachelor days he had goldfish and axolotls, but he’s never had a mammal as a pet).  My family had a dog when I grew up, but lived in a rural setting on a half acre block and the dog lived outside and pretty much roamed free (this was a long time ago).  We live in inner Melbourne, so Buzz is going to be an indoor dog, just staying outside when no-one is home.  He has already tried to escape from the back yard once, but now the gate has been reinforced and things are very secure.  We are limiting him to the downstairs part of the house – no entry to the sewing room for Buzz!

So far Buzz is an absolute delight.  He’s been well trained, I haven’t heard him bark once, and he loves to walk on the lead.  He follows commands – even the rather confusing ones from Stella – and loves nothing more than to have his tummy rubbed or to lie on the couch next to you with his head on your lap.  He also likes to lick your hands, which I’m not so keen on but will probably get used to.  He does have a dog bed but it quickly became apparent that he is used to sleeping on the couch.  Oh well – six year old habits are possibly harder to break.  And the couch is already very grubby, so we might go along with that.  He is also very happy to be brushed.  Fortunately there is a dog groomer living two doors up from us, which will be very handy as Buzz will need regular grooming.  And I have sussed out local vet and dog training options too, and there are plenty.

If you are interested in getting a dog and are pretty inexperienced with animals like we are, I highly recommend getting an adult dog from a shelter!  No puppy behaviour or house training to do, and you are rescuing a dog that needs love and care.  So far we are thrilled with our decision!  The girls’ friends are pretty happy about it too – Buzz is definitely the star attraction at the moment.

Oh, as for the sewing content of this blog post? I made the pyjamas that Clare is wearing in the above photo – and shall blog about them eventually!