We're parents!

UPDATE - 12 22 07: His official name is now Tank. We loved Rufus... but he's just such a little tank. So... Tank it is!

UPDATE - 12 17 07: We're thinking of changing Thunder's name to "Rufus" or "Roofus", heh. Or, maybe, Rufus Thunder Richardson? What do you think?

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Meet Thunder, a 7-week-old Rott / Shep mix puppy who found his way into our hearts and our home today.

For Christmas, John and I were considering getting a puppy / dog as our present. We've been wanting a dog for some time now. So, we've been visiting the Nashville Humane Society every weekend for about seven weeks. We've walked and gotten to know some cool dogs and puppies... but until today, none of them have been "it".

Then, by chance, we were running some errands before Clocky had to leave for a gig set-up / rehearsal. We saw the "Teddy" mobile in the parking lot at 100 Oaks and decided to stop in.

Sure enough, there he was: Thunder. We played with him a bit and pretty much knew on the spot. But, for so long, we thought we wanted a dark colored / black dog, so when they told us Thunder had a couple brothers who were black, we decided to check them out, just to be sure. We thought a drive to the Humane Society might help us from being impulsive, too. So, we left the Teddy mobile and drove to the Humane Society to see the other puppies.

Well... while they were cute and fun and spunky (about 12 other puppies), none of them were Thunder. He was definitely it if we were going to go for it.

So, we got back in the car and began driving back to 100 Oaks. Thunder was it. We knew it. But, should we do it?

After much discussion, we decided to go for it. We've got time to add a fence or a kennel to our yard before Spring. And, we have a crate to keep him in at home and on our travels to Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa over the holidays.

Now that he's here in our house, it's wild to think that we actually did it! But, he's so adorable and, at this point, his temprament seems to suit us well.

So far, the cats are just wandering near the crate and sniffing. They aren't too sure about this thing in the living room, yet. Since it isn't another cat, I'm hoping the adjustment will go well. Wish us luck with that! Heh.

(PS: If you're reading this today, and you're looking for a Christmas puppy... get over to the Humane Society today... I don't think any of Thunder's siblings will be there long. PLUS, they have some amazing dogs that would be perfect to give a Christmas home. If it weren't for the cats, we'd probably have adopted a full-size dog.)