Introducing: Beau

When we began the process of buying the house, one thing was clear to both James and me: we wanted a dog. Both of us had always had dogs underfoot growing up, and the lack of canine companionship due to strict rental guidelines had begun to wear on us.

Initially, we discussed getting a younger puppy. Ever since the dog attack 2 years ago, Cadence has been terrified of dogs and we wanted her to feel comfortable with our new family member. We thought a young puppy would be a good starting point for her. However, as we browsed the local shelter's adoptables list for beautiful, sweet-faced puppies, I was simultaneously looking at "how to crate train" and "how to house train a puppy".

We almost adopted a puppy Wednesday afternoon, but lacking sufficient proof of address for the shelter's requirements, we went home empty-handed and I was surprised to find myself relieved. I finally admitted I was overwhelmed with the idea of taking care of a puppy and three young children in a new house. That evening, James and I looked at some older dogs and Thursday afternoon, the kids and I went to a different shelter and met some older dogs and signed paperwork for "Beau". He had to stay a few days to be neutered and get his shots, but Sunday afternoon we picked him up.

A few details: He is a 1 year old, catahoula leopard hound mix. He was a stray, technically, but after a few hours at home, it became very clear he was a lost pet. While it's a little sad to consider someone may be missing their dog, we're pleased to have him in our home. He's already mostly house-trained and it took him no time at all to pick up on the rule that he is not allowed in the dining room when we are eating. He even took to his crate without an issue overnight and we were able to leave him crated to run errands with no problems this afternoon.

The kids already love him. Cadence took a little time to warm up to him, especially when he was energetic and exploring for the first few hours in his new home. In truth, she spent the first hour sitting on the couch screaming and crying every time he attempted to sniff her and I feared for the worst. Megan was attempting a game of fetch with him within an hour and eventually Cadence decided to try as well.

We were very pleased to find Beau's only reaction to Connor climbing over him to be some curious sniffing. We were a little nervous about introducing him to the cats, but there was no aggression, only eagerness to play and disappointment when both cats hissed and ran under the bed instead. I expect in a few weeks, Taz will forgive us and might even adopt him in her fashion. Hanna will forgive us and ignore him.