Whoever said ‘Diamonds are a girls best friend’ never owned a dog.

Maybe I should start by saying, I have ALWAYS wanted a puppy. My childhood bestie, Asha (also now my sister in law) had a few growing up and with Rover, King and then Simba, there wasn’t a single sleepover at the Logan household that wasn’t fun!

I never expected I’d ever actually get one though as my heavily congested eye watering  hayfever suffering you-can-hear-him-sneeze-from-China daddy point blank refused and dog-blocked my every request (from age 9 to 19).

I should have taken art lessons from my little cousin sissy Erica – yes this masterpiece in addition to THE worlds cutest smile worked for her. Lucky little brat!

Me on the other hand? I was told I’d have to wait till I was married. So that’s exactly what I did.

Fast forward to 2 months post wedding, a cheeky pub lunch inclusive of an Eton mess or two, an innocent flick through the Pets4Home app, and me, my husband, brother in law and sister in law were off to meet some newborn Westie pups.

This sort of thing wasn’t that unusual for us – we’d done it before. We often ended up on the Pets4Home app when we got together to ooh and ahh over the cute puppies and revisit the topic that my sister in law should have been a vet (she is actually the Dog Whisperer, an art taught and mastered by the one and only Logi Bear – her dad). So you’ll believe me when I say that none of us honestly expected that this time we would walk in as a 4 and leave as a 6!

Certainly not me accompanied by my responsible and logical husband, right? The McCallister to my Kitty Walker crazy, the grounded, annoyingly pragmatic and sensible one. No, apparently, he was MIA. Instead, I was with someone that resembled a kid in a sweet shop!

Caution was most definitely thrown to the wind. We picked our pups and excitedly took them home  – Oscar and Dexter – our very own Andy boys. Not quite what my father in law had in mind after spending a portion of his wedding speech instructing the four of us to stop buying fur babies and produce a progeny of tiny humans instead! Oops, sorry maama.

Looking back, it was a little rash if I’m honest and sure presented us with a rather steep learning curve….

Yeah, we were on number 2 until my pregnancy hormones kicked in. We’re now on number 7. Ok, ok, number 10. Eek.

Oops, oh well, completely worth all the trouble – we’ve never looked back! One thing is for sure, life is definitely better with a dog to come home to.

Here’s a few of the reasons why I am crazy in love with Oscar.

1.  Puppy cuddles are something else. They are healing, genuinely. And an absolute argument diffuser. It’s hard to stay mad at the hub or stop crying at the latest Shonda Rhimes induced death when Oscar is nuzzling at me out of concern.

2. According to Oscar, and only Oscar I am Jamie bloody Oliver. He loves all my cooking especially if it involves cheese. I mean he would probably eat anything but we’ll forget that for the moment!

3. It really is very simple with Oscar. Take him for a walk. Feed him. Rub his belly. He’s yours. Feed him chicken? You’ll reach best friend status – just ask my dad. (I can literally see you feeding him mum’s chicken curry on the sly while I write this, dad!)

4. He lets me keep my feet warm under him. Win.

5. I never miss a delivery with my personal doorbell. Especially those awesome 6am ones, yes he doubles as an alarm clock too.

6. He could put Dyson out of business – most efficent hoover of all crumbs!

7. He keeps us fit. In a world of technology with Netflix at your fingertips beckoning you to become that couch potato, its easy to forget the outdoors. But with Oscar barking at my feet, nudging his leash, wagging his tail, it’s a joy to get outside.

8. He will puff his chest out and bark like he means business if he sees another dog, the Amazon delivery guy, a Dementor during Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban, the Hoover, the broom, oh especially the broom….But he wouldn’t hurt a fly. Turn my Kenwood mixer on? He’ll be quivering at my feet – my silly little puppy dog.

9. The return home greeting. Every dog owner/lover will attest to this feeling being ‘the one’. We could be gone for 5 mins or 5 hours, it doesn’t matter. Oscar will be waiting by the door, tail wagging ready to leap up and embrace us. It is enough to make you feel like an A- lister.

10. He is my bestie. Yes, I am THAT dog lady. The one I swore I’d never become. Who was I kidding, lets face it, I’m not cool enough to be cool. So I put my hands up, I am guilty as charged for buying him a Fairisle Christmas jumper every year, dressing him up whenever the occasion calls and filling my insta feed with puppy pics, especially of said jumper, and for sharing every little probably unexciting thing he does which is actually super exciting to me. Like this post, sorry.

                  

11. He puts up with me. See above Christmas jumper point. Also he dances with me to Taylor Swift (yes, ok I mean he doesn’t resist), he doesn’t only ever want to watch QI or Top Gear and he lets me hug him even when he’s not that into it because he knows I need it.

12. Cheapest psychiatrist and cure for a blue day. He listens, he snuggles, he shares the ice-cream without a raised eyebrow, he loves. Unless someone’s cooking chicken in the kitchen, then he’s outta there.

Don’t get me wrong, there are of course days when he drives me mad – accidentally waking Sophia up after I’ve taken forever to put her down, barking at literally nothing, being accident prone (damn you grass seeds to hell) or having an indoor wee wee accident (very rare, thankfully).

Despite all of this, what he brings to our lives is so much more than words can describe or quantify. I’ve learnt more about being human from him than actual humans. The compassion, kindness and understanding is unparalleled. And his thirst for life is contagious.

Simply put, he is all kinds of awesome. He has won over my mum for gods sake, has my dad wrapped around his finger and even managed a cheeky nap or two with my sister. Legend. So it’s safe to say he is a part of our family and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Looking forward especially to seeing Sophia grow up with him.

Love you Oscar even if you love the hubster more than me – you are currently staring at me like I’m an idiot. Oh, you know me so well. And you love me anyway.