Our Blended Family

When Ty and I decided we would make permanent residence under one roof (some would call this "shacking up" ... now I'm embarrassed), we had one primary concern. How would our dogs get along?

Sure, they'd spent plenty of time together in the past, but they'd never shared the same territory. I feared there would be a lot of "marking" going on, which isn't very desirable when you move into your new house. I feared our property value would plummet.

Nearly a year later, this is how it's all worked out.

Our two pups have become the best of friends. They're Milo and Otis ... if Milo wasn't a cat. Unless Baxter gets too close to Lacy's food bowl and then things get complicated.

But with the wedding planning and honeymoon that led straight into a busy holiday season, maybe our dogs have been slightly neglected. For example, in the picture above you only see three glowing eyes. That's not because Baxter is a one-eyed animal, but because his vision is partially obstructed by one giant, bushy eyebrow. I'm sorry, dude. I'm just glad he hasn't run into any walls. We haven't seen his eyeballs in months.

Mr. B has looked semi-homeless for a while now. So, feeling like the terrible mother that I am, I made him a hair appointment for this past weekend. If just the sight of my poor puppy didn't make me feel bad enough, the groomer lady pulled out my file to let me know it had been a year since Baxter's last appointment. I don't handle guilt trips well, so rather than just ignoring her comment, I let her know that Baxter had been going somewhere else. Zing!

Here's Baxter enjoying his car ride home, post-haircut.

He perked up after we passed Cheddar's, and then we had a conversation about why people are freaking out over this place. For all intents and purposes, it's pretty much a Chilis. And if you haven't eaten there lately, it's actually pretty gross.

I can discuss these topics at length, and after a while, Baxter grew uninterested.

Or maybe he was just tired from his busy day.

Or possibly he missed his friend Lacy.

Or, most likely, his eyes couldn't tolerate the bright light without his overgrown giant, bushy eyebrows.