I think what happened was that I was lured in, yes lured in by the cuteness factor of Mandi. I was with my boys on a Saturday in July and decided to wait outside while they went into the Sportmans Warehouse near our home. If any of you are not familiar with this store let me explain it in a few simple words . . . it’s a man’s hunting paradise supplier–smaller than Cabela’s, but just as wonderful to them.

Now, I’m not against such stores, it’s just that I get bored with looking at guns, bows, bullets and cameo colored everything. I grew up with my father and brother being hunters, know about fire arms and actually have a really great shot, however, it’s just not number one on my list of “fun things” to do on my day off.

Okay, so back to the story of Mandi . . . I was waiting in the parking lot when a sign caught my eye, “Lab Puppies”. If my husband had seen the sign before he entered the store he wouldn’t have left me alone. He would have forced me to come inside and look around for no other reason than to keep me close. He knows I have a weakness for puppies and kittens. It’s not like I bring home stray animals, it’s just that I have a proven track record–I see, I like, I acquire.

Mandi the day we brought her home

I have an internal battle going on inside me . . . take a look at the puppies and walk away or sit in the car. I know what I should do, stay in the car, but the impulsive side of me says, “oh just go have a look, there’s no harm in looking . . .” Failure #1–That my friends should have been my first clue to stay in the car, but that’s not what happened.

I wander over to the trailer housing the little darlings and find them all in a pile sleeping. Failure #2–sleeping puppies are adorable. Failure #3 came when I held her cubby little frame and smelled that adorable puppy breath . . . yes, I LOVE puppy breath. She was like this little limp mass in my arms and I just couldn’t get her out of my mind.

My hubby, seeing the danger I was in, came out to rescue me and tried to prevent the disaster . . . it was a loosing battle, but to give him credit he fought valiantly!

Mandi came home with us and thus we were once again a two dog family. Now mind you when our beloved cocker, Paisley, passed I agreed that having one dog was much easier than two and that getting another dog shouldn’t even be considered . . . noticed how I agreed, but didn’t promise not to get another one? Sneaky I know . . .

How could anybody say “no” to this?

Poor, Sam, he thought his world had abruptly been intruded . . . it had. My first thought about how the two would get along brought up images of Sam making Mandi a mini sandwich. Shiver, yeah, don’t like those thoughts and I should have known better.

Now, Mandi, she’s a different story . . . she’s bossy, pushy, does what she pleases and is just plain crazy. Yeah, that would mostly likely be a reflection of me if I were completely truthful with myself, but really who wants to go there?

More to come . . .