let's talk about your brothers

I wanted a dog from when I was a little girl, animals make me happy. When I moved to Illinois, into the first house we've ever lived in, my family decided to get a dog. We had no clue what we were getting ourselves into and I was young enough to not understand the major responsibilities that it took to care for a dog, to say the least it didn't go so well. When my family moved into an apartment a year later, we decided to give our dog to our cousins in California. Her name is Kasey and she has a soft spot in my heart because she was my first pet ever and although she was insane, hyper, the hardest dog we could have ever asked for, I took for granted her loving personality. She actually still lived with my cousins in California but she's not doing so well. She's a pretty obese dog, with no exercise and it breaks my heart to see her that way but she's old now and exercise really won't help. Especially if she stops walking in the middle of the street to tell you that she's done walking for the day.

When Eugene and I got together in 2006, I for some reason decided to adopt a dog that I found on craigslist one random day in 2007. I was still too young to realize the responsibilities of having a dog, and especially getting a dog in a college apartment was probably not the smartest idea. I was young, stupid, and naive. I had no clue what I was doing and I didn't really think through my thoughts before acting upon them. After getting caught with Peanut one too many times, Eugene brought him to his parents house and Eugene's parents took care of them. Peanut was just way too much for them to handle, especially when they didn't ask to have a dog in the first place so they asked their aunt to take care of him on her farm. It was great for him because he loved to run around, play, have some freedom, and he had another dog and other animals to keep him company. One day, he never returned and that's where we leave it. I don't like thinking about what could have happened to him but all we know is that he must be in a better place.

Now on to your two brothers, Pistachio and Walnut.

Pistachio came into our family first in 2008. Whenever I pass by a pet shop, I always want to stop and look at the dogs even if its to look at them from the window. Well, one day Eugene and I passed by a pet store and I begged him to stop and let me look at the dogs. He reluctantly said yes and we went inside the pet store to see all the puppies in the store. We had about 30 minutes to kill since Eugene had basketball so I started asking to hold this puppy and that one instantly. I actually didn't come upon Pistachio until the end of our visit, probably because I had no clue what a Bichon Frise was and I was sticking to the puppies that I knew more of, yorkies, lhaso apso, poodle mixes, malteses, etc. But I looked into his window and really just wanted to hold him and get him out a little bit since he was sitting all alone and completely not engaging in any of the other customers that were in the store. He came into the little room with me and would not play at all! But, I fell in love with him. I liked the fact that he didn't need so much attention and that he wasn't nipping at my toes like all the other dogs did previously. I wanted him!  Sadly, our 30 minutes were up and we had to leave for Eugene's basketball game.

During the basketball game, I couldn't think about anything else but the little guy I left back at the pet store. It broke my heart that the store employee told me that he was "on sale" because he was there for too long and a family hasn't chosen him just yet. Throughout the whole game I couldn't think about anything else and started to research all about Bichon Frises and their temperment, potty training, personalities, etc. I then asked my roommates at the time if it would be okay if I brought a dog, just to get all the grounds cover just in case I was able to somehow have him for my own.

After the game, I told Eugene that I wanted to go back to the pet store and I told him that I knew exactly who  I wanted to be a part of my family. I told him that I couldn't stop thinking about anything but him and that if I didn't take him, my heart would break to think that he would be there for x amount of days. Eugene and I went back to the pet store, played with the pup and for who knows what reason, Eugene said that he liked him as well and wouldn't mind having him in the family. That was all I needed.

Pistachio was named and he was now family to us. He came back with me to DeKalb, my roommates loved him and he was the best pup anyone could ask for. He was so quiet, shy, and independent. After hiding him from our landlord for a good couple months, we got caught too many times, had to pay hefty fines, and needed to find an alternative home for him. (I know, I'm an idiot for even doing it to begin with but seriously, my heart just tells me to do stupid things sometimes.. but I definitely don't regret having him for one bit). Eugene asked his parents if he could bring home Pistachio and they said they'd do a trail run. Well to say the least, they fell in love with him and became part of their family very quickly.

I always knew I wanted to have a brother for Pistachio since Pistachio seemed so lonely when we had to leave him and it hurt me that he was always alone for long periods of time when Eugene was at work. I never thought we'd get another dog, but in March 2010 Walnut came into our family.

I was looking at craigslist, I do it all the time. Just searching dogs to see who is giving up what dog and why, I loved just looking at some of these dogs and awed at how cute they were. One post opened my eyes, a post about a Yorkie Mix that was being given up for adoption. Now, yorkies are pretty hard to come by so anytime I came upon a post about a yorkie, I opened it. Opening this post changed my life. Someone was giving up this yorkie mix because they found him roaming the streets and picked him up. The family that rescued him rescues dogs all the time and although they wanted to keep him, they knew they had to find a good home for him. I emailed the family just to see if he was still available and if I could see him; most yorkies find homes quickly since they're high in demand. I was surprised to receive an email saying that he was still looking for a home and that I could come by later that day to see him if I had the time. I just had to go and see him.

I went to the family's home and saw him for the first time. He just got neutered and had a cone over him head, he wasn't able to be groomed so he had hair covering his eyes, and he was just the cutest little dog anyone could ever lay eyes on. Needless to say, I took him home that day. I named him Walnut because we have a little trend Nuts in the family so since he was black and brown I instantly thought of Walnut. I love how people that hear our dogs' names always say things like "Oh you must love nuts, your husband and your two dogs", I've seriously heard it all.

Pistachio and Walnut were introduced to each other at our First Home. They instantly fell in love. I'm very lucky to have had Pistachio first because he's a very easy going guy who gets along with everyone. If we had Walnut first, I don't know if we'd be able to get another dog since he's a little bit more "vicious" and territorial. Either way, things worked out great and now we have two amazing little babies that I can't see myself living without.

Pistachio is definitely a fun loving guy who loves to cuddle and he's a daddy's boy. He follows Daddy around everywhere and whines when he can't be with him. Walnut is the opposite and is very independent, playful, and doesn't like to cuddle as much. Although he loves a great belly rub, he doesn't sit on our laps for long and would rather sleep on the floor than next to us. Walnut absolutely LOVES fetch. Pistachio on the other hand would rather sleep.

You are so lucky you'll be having two brothers. They are amazing and I'm pretty sure they know something big is happening soon (your arrival). We all can't wait for you to come and we're counting down the days, 117 more to go!