Chat…Just Because

Ok, so I’m dating myself with the Donny Osmond hit, but whatev. The point is, I’m lover of sweet, intelligent loveable doggies, but alas, I am allergic to them. I don’t think I was always allergic, but then again, we didn’t have a dog for any length of time when growing up, so I guess I could have been allergic and just didn’t realize it.  

When I first was married, my husband and I had a beautiful Collie, but the hair everywhere was un-be-lievable. We couldn’t keep up with it! So we decided to find a loving family for her and move on without a canine buddy. But we realized a short time later that we missed having one around, and so we purchased an AKC registered Cocker Spaniel. We named this adorable pup, Lacy. Here is a photo of her right after we got her. Sweeet puppy!

She was such a joy to have around. She was literally our baby until of course Madeline showed up two years later. Sounds like classic ‘Lady and the Tramp’ plot, but really, she was a wonderful part of our family for many years. Loved her!

When we decided we needed a bigger home, we moved to a house without a fenced in yard, and we agreed to let Lacy live with my mother-in-law (who coincidentally bought our old house) because we couldn’t afford a fence and I couldn’t bear the thought of her running away. Once in our new house for a few days without Lacy, I realized there was a dramatic decrease, no … end … to my incessant sneezing, sniffling and congestion issues that had plagued me for the past few years. My sweet Lacy was the source of what I kept telling myself was pesky allergies. Allergies indeed, but to dander! Not pollen or other outdoor plant culprits. Dang!

Since then, nearly 11 years, I’ve not had a dog for fear that I would sneeeze my way through the rest of my life. The would girls ask repeatedly, “Can’t you just get a shot, mom?” But honestly, as much as I loved dogs, I wasn’t willing to subject myself to pills or injections just so I could live with one.

Over the years I have entertained the possbility of getting a smaller breed that has less dander, the bichon, poodle or maltese type, but then other things took priority, and I stopped looking.

Well with Madeline leaving for college in a few short months, I must be in some sort of nesting mode (which I totally realize) because I’m all over it again! Elyse is out of her mind with happiness at the thought that I’m even considering another dog, Parker is all for it, and Don is a dog lover also. So what’s the hold up? Fear. Fear of the allergies mostly.

But I’ve been doing my homework on breeds that are less likely to cause sneezing attacks and swollen, itchy eyes and think I’ve decided that I could live with one of these: A Coton de Tulear. This cutie is a tri-colored, but they also come in pure white or white and black.

Photo from the United States of America Coton de Tulear Club

I’d never heard of this type of dog before, but for the hours of online reading I’ve done, I now think that this little beauty of a breed would be an amazing match for our family. Oh I’d love to rescue a dog, don’t get me wrong, but I just can’t take the chance of me being allergic to a mix.

I could go on and on about the traits of the Coton, but suffice to say that I think I’ve made up my mind, and I’ll keep doing a bit more research. On the other hand, if any of you know of reputable Coton breeders in the Midwest or have firsthand experience with one, I’d love their information. If we do decide to pursue this, I would definitely want to meet the little sweetie before we bring it home. You can do a Google image search on the breed and see some of THE cutest pictures.

Tags: coton de tulear, family, observations, random thoughts

This entry was posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 at 7:07 am and is filed under Chat...Just Because. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.