"Mom, please, please can we get a dog?!?" My daughters were at it again. Cassandra and Lillian have always dreamed of having a puppy. As we sat in the living room, they made their usual promises as they tried to convince me. In their softest and sweetest voice they said, "Mom, if you get us a dog, we promise to walk it and feed it-you won't even know it's here."

I responded with the same response I always gave-"No, a dog is to much work!"

    Little did they know that I was changing my mind. I also wanted to get make our family a little bigger by adding a dog to the family. 

    On April 27, 2013, the last Saturday of the month, we drove to Long Island to pick up their babysitter, Mary, from college. We told them that she needed a ride home because her mom's car broke down and we were going to help her out.

    We arrived at the college, picked up Mary, and stopped to eat lunch before heading back to Westchester County. 

    On the way to Mary's house, the girls noticed that I was going the wrong way. They said, "Mom- you are going the wrong way!" I acted like I did not know what they meant and I continued down Route 119 to the Westchester County Center. As I approached the County Center, the girls noticed the signs around the building saying, "Best Friends Pet Adoption."

Best Friends 

Pet Adoption

    The screams in my car were thunderous. Cassandra and Lillian were screaming, "WE ARE GETTING A DOG! WE ARE GETTING A DOG!" 

    I tried to calm them down by saying, "We are going to look and see if we can find a dog that fits us." Mary and I looked at each other with grins on our faces as the girls continued bouncing around the back seat.     

    After parking the car, the girls could barely contain their excitement.  They were talking excitedly about the type of dog they wanted to get. I kept hearing the word "HUSKY" being bantered about-definitely not the size dog that I was looking for, I thought to myself.