Poppy Marie Asbell

We got a dog!!

I have been thinking about getting a dog for a couple months. We were dog parents for 12 and 13 years to Lilly and Simon. Now, if you knew us back then, you know our experience with dogs hasn't been an easy one, so we were more than hesitant to do this again.

However, I was seeing an increased need to get the boys a dog. The responsibility, empathy, and compassion it teaches children are just second to none. I was particularly worried because of the amount of time the dog would be home alone. I just kept saying, "It's not fair to the dog." We leave the house at 7am and don't arrive home until after 5pm on most days. That's a lot to ask of a dog. 

The tug was growing more and more in my heart to get our family a dog. I had a couple particular restrictions though. The dog had to be small. The amount of energy a large dog needs to expound every day was not suitable for our schedule. And the dog had to be hypoallergenic. John and I are severely allergic to dogs that shed. So I started my research after a friend telling me more about her maltipoo. After some internet digging, I became instantly a fan of Morkies. A Morkie is half Maltese and half Yorkie. Or as I like to say, 'a really expensive mutt'. 

We found 'Muffin' online. I promise you...I SWEAR to you, as soon as the three of us saw 'Muffin' we knew she was ours. Now you notice...I said three of us. There was one Asbell who was not quite on board with this addition to our family. I had some work to do.

I spent a couple weeks talking up the idea of a dog to John. He was slow to warm up. I was very confident in my ability to persuade him. So confident that I reach out to inquire more about 'Muffin'. When John finally came around to the idea, I worked fast. I talked to the owner and asked her to 'hold' her for us.

The boys had no clue if or when we were getting a dog, but they knew Muffin would be the one. They knew I had some work to do before John would agree to the idea. They were so confident in my abilities as well, that we went ahead and renamed 'Muffin'. 

We were listening to City of Ember on audiobook. The youngest child is named Poppy. She is the youngest in the family and everyone wants to take good care of her. We thought this would be the best name for our newest member of the family.

There was a small hitch in my plan. See, when I talked to the owner about holding Poppy for me, she took her off the website. Little did I know, the boys had been looking at Poppy online every day. When she disappeared, they were devastated. I knew I had to move to hyperdrive.

I scheduled with the owner to pick Poppy up on Friday in Nashville. I knew I could get there and back while the kids were at camp. The moment I saw that 2.5 pounds of fluff, I fell instantly in love. 

We hurried back to Collierville. She slept most of the way home. The poor girl had gotten car sick on the way to Nashville, so she needed to rest. I had not heard her make a sound, so I was convinced I was going to pull off a great surprise for the boys.

Click here for the Poppy reveal!

I dropped Poppy off in her crate and raced back to get Evan and Luke. When we arrived home, I learned our sweet girl had a voice. She started barking as soon as we got home. I immediately started recording to catch the boys' reactions. Their pure unbridled joy was one of the greatest things for me as a mom. 

We spent those first weeks loving on Poppy as much as we could. We played, napped, hugged, became a big happy family.

Poppy is literally the best dog ever. We are her people and she is ours.