In 2010, I was set on getting a dog. I knew we weren’t going to be having kids any time soon, and really wanted a puppy.
My friend Jen had sent me his profile from an OC animal shelter (after we’d exhausted our hunt on adopt-a-pet and other sites). I was pretty picky and wanted our dog to have the perfect amount of fluff and personality to fit into our family.
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This was the photo posted on the shelter site. |
Problem was, Luis did not want a dog. He’s always been the logical one in our relationship and he’d repeatedly have to explain that it was a huge decision and wasn’t sure we were ready for the responsibility. But the heart wants what it wants and mine was ready, so I went to the shelter the next day to go meet this puppy.
When I got to his kennel Poh immediately trotted over to the door, wagging his tail and practically dragging his tongue on the floor. He was like no other dog I’d seen in my months-long search, and I immediately fell in love.
But, because I knew pulling on Luis’s heart strings wasn’t going to be enough, I decided to try a different strategy. I’d appeal to his more practical nature. I explained that I’d visited this dog and I would like for us to go to the shelter, so he could meet him in person, and we could then come together to have a logical conversation about getting a dog (this one in particular).
If you really know me, you know how hard that was. To not let my emotions do all the talking, but to actually slow myself down and try to be sensible about the situation. At this point we’d been married for 3 years (together for 12) and it appeared as though Luis’ common sense way of thinking was actually starting to have an affect me.
Luis responded well to this tactic, so he agreed to go visit the shelter and humor me with a conversation. The next day, on my way back from teaching summer school, I called Luis or maybe he called me. Either way, I was excited to go back to the shelter and discuss the possibilities from a more thoughtful and rational perspective.
Well, the first thing luis said to me had nothing to do with our puppy planning. All he said was, “You have to head home so we can clean the house.” At that moment brain shut off and my emotions took back control. I immediately burst out in a rant which probably sounded something like, “But we were supposed to go to the shelter! Why should I come home and clean right now?! There’s no rush and YOU SAID we could talk about getting a dog!!!”
Luis managed to interrupt my tirade and calmly said, “You have to come home to clean right now, because… I got the dog.”
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| Poh in the car on his way home that very same week. |
Apparently he’d gone to visit the shelter earlier that day actually asked to go into the kennel with him. Luis said the very first thing Poh did was pee right at his feet (as he would do hundreds of times after that to everyone he’d meet) and he just knew this was it. Truly love at first sight.
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| His paws were my absolute favorite. |
Looks like I wasn’t the only one being transformed by our relationship. While I was willing to use my head to make this decision, Luis made an impulsive purchase based on emotion and made this choice with his heart.
Poh was able to get us to find that balance and I am beyond grateful for his unwavering love and adoration for us, his forever Pohrales family.
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| Just the 3 of us. I actually used this photo in the last post I made on here in 2015. |
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| All of us in 2021. |
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| Poh stayed by the door all week, waiting for Luis to get home. Their bond was beyond special. |
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| In our hearts is where he’ll always be, but in our arms is where I wish he could stay. |
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| Thank you for showing us how to love. |
