I had really hoped to blog about my engagement pictures today, however, our photographer is still working on the processing.

So, instead, I bring you:  MY FURBABY, Charlie:

In May of 2008 I dogsat for a friend of mine who has a 110 pound black lab mix (named Dr. Frankenfurter).  I grew up with a black lab, and love dogs.  Being around Frankie reminded me of how much I missed having a dog in my life.  Around this time, I also discovered long coat Chihuahuas.  A friend of mine got one, and it was the sweetest dog I'd ever met.  Long coats are bred to select for personality traits mostly, and personally, I find them WAY cuter than smooth coats.

One day on a whim, Brett and I decided to stop in a pet store and play with puppies.  We had decided on getting a dog from a shelter after we moved in June, and I wanted to get a feel for what type of dog we would be compatible with.  First we played with a Min-Pin, who aggrivated Brett's allergies so much that he was immediatley out of the question.

Next we looked into a window, and saw two dogs, one was a sleeping 2 pound long coat chihuahua.  I asked the girl to get him for me, and as soon as I held him, I was in love.  He nuzzled up to my neck, cuddled with me, and fell asleep right there.  We asked how much he was.  Over $2,000, but if we paid in cash today, they would knock off 15%.  Brett said no, and I cried the whole way home.  He went back to Cleveland that night (at the time were Long distance), and over the course of 3 days, I went to visit this amazingly sweet pup 2 more times.  Each time it was harder to give him back.  Eventually, I convinced Brett that he would make a wonderful birthday present, while simultaneously convincing the pet store to give us a 50% discount on the pup that I had already named Charlie.

Charlie relaxes after a long walk.

Brett paid by credit card over the phone, and I took him home on Wednesday. 

Since then he has brought something into our lives that we never knew we could have with a dog.  He is pretty darn close to perfect.  He almost never barks (the exception being if he thinks that there might be an intruder coming to get us), he snuggles with us like a champ, he's as sweet as can be, and he's our little slice of awesome.  He is five pounds of pure sugar.