Monday, August 26, 2013

It's National Dog Day!

So yesterday was National Dog Day. We have these furry friends that we get so attached to-they know when we are happy, sad, mad, and glad. At the Lawson household, we don't have any human babies YET, but we have two fur babies. 

Coco Chanel has been in our lives for six years. That's a long time!  She's 13 pounds of pure ferocity. She's my bestie, my snuggle buddy, and her daddy's princess. We've gone through her broken leg, lots of squirrel chasing, and even my dad's stroke together.  She's everyone's favorite-if you don't believe me, ask my Grandma Jo, everything she says is golden. Coco Chanel is definitely the queen bee at our house. 


Meet Coco Chanel Lawson!
I know, precious right?!

And then there's Cheyenne. We've only had her for about 2 months. She's a chocolate lab and is constantly growing!  I forgot what it's like to have a puppy....always an adventure!  I am convinced she will end up being like 100 pounds. Here's the latest Cheyenne story:

If you've been to our house, you know it's small and we have a decent size yard, but no fence. Well, this weekend we set out to change that. Cheyenne needs a place to run and frolic in her new baby pool she just got.  Soooooo my sweet burly man of a husband set out to build a fence on Saturday. He's so great-he can just whip up all kinds of home projects in a matter of a few days. Anyways, we work on the fence all day Saturday. (When I say we, I mean HE, because we all know I'm terrible at manual labor.  If anybody needs lunch or some brownies, that's my job!)  

This is my general feeling about any kind of outdoor or home remodel project work. 

Basically I would rather clean 100 toilets than work outside. Call me high maintenance. 

Back to the fence story.
Sunday rolls around. We wake up early, and eat a good size breakfast. Lo and behold, who shows up?  My father-in-law-he's also really good at whipping up home projects. Hey, he taught my hubs everything he knows!  I make him breakfast too and the boys set off to work. So I let the girls out of the house and I am in charge of watching them. We run, we play, we frolic in the pool....well, Cheyenne frolics in the pool. Coco still isn't sold on the idea of a new dog and definitely not on a pool. Brandon asks me to get something for him and Cheyenne is following me, then all of a sudden she's gone. GONE!  Not gone like, hey, she ran to the neighbor's house....gone as in we can't find her ANYWHERE. 

I panic. This was my responsibility. To watch the girls. Of course Coco didn't run off-if y'all don't know her, she hates strangers. She just barks at them and hangs with me, her Momma. She's kind of a snob.  We search.  And search.  And search. Our work on the fence we are building for the dog that has now gone missing screeches to a halt.  My father-in-law and I drive all over the neighborhood in search of this sweet pup that stole our hearts in less than 2 months. I'm worried-freaking out-Brandon has wanted a big dog for a looooong time and once he finally got one....I lost her. Oops. I start praying. Lord, PLEASE bring this puppy back!  After about an hour and a half of searching, we give up. I call a few friends upset and they offer to help search. I post on Craigslist and Facebook for anyone that sees her to call me. Our friends that live a mile or so away offer to take some time to help look. At this point I've kind of given up....I am planning to run to the local WalMarts to see if someone is trying to sell her. Y'all know how crazy people are these days!  

Next thing I know.....I hear a car honking their horn and I look up to see not so little Miss Cheyenne riding in the car with our friends Michael and Tiffani!  They took part of their day that was devoted to family time to help us search. I told them we owe them free babysitting for life!  (Even though they probably wouldn't trust us with a human since we couldn't even keep up with a dog!)

Here's a pic of Michael and Tiffani.

Here's a pic of them with sweet Tinley Grace. 
Aren't they cute??

Anyways, after many thanks and lots of tears, Cheyenne was safe and sound. The story about how these random people picked her up was kind of weird....but whatever. They gave her back to Michael and Tiff without any resistance. Thank you Jesus!  

Needless to say, Cheyenne wasn't allowed off the leash for the rest of the day. Poor girl. She played in her pool and finally tired out. She found a good patch of shade for a nap. 


Here she is again. 

All in all, we love our little pooches!  Our little family is back home safe and sound. And Coco Chanel still shows her who's boss. (I think she likes to term it "tough love". Deep down, I know she was worried about her sister while she was missing.)