Harriet the Dog

Today I’m breaking one of my own blogging rules and getting personal. Not overly personal, but I am going to share that I got a puppy this weekend. Her name is Harriet (after Harry Potter) and she is a Tibetan Terrier. Over the last two days I have very much fallen in love with this adorable ball of fur, and don’t even mind when she whines at 3am (I hope my neighbors feel the same).

Now here’s the shocking part of my story. I don’t like dogs. I wanted one as a child, yet as I made my way to adulthood, the idea of all the work that went into a dog did not appeal to me. Additionally, I couldn’t stand to be licked or jumped on, plus the smell of some dogs was enough for me to declare I would never, ever, ever get a dog.  This led to many a person telling me I didn’t have a soul.  Apparently dogs are the keepers of souls, which I previously thought was baloney, but now know to be true.

But somehow one thing led to another (mostly a dog-loving husband and friends who brought home Harriet’s brother last week) and on Saturday, I ate my words and am now a proud dog owner.

It’s a total departure from how I thought life was going to look on January 18, 2011. If you had told me a year ago I would be typing a blog post with a puppy on my lap I would have slapped you across the face (not really) and declared you insane. Yet here I sit with Harriet on my lap, refusing to even put her down because she brings me such joy.

At first I figured this would be the one time in my life I truly went against my instincts and did something that I had declared I’d never do. But the more I think about, the more it seems stepping outside my comfort zone was one of the best things I’ve done in awhile.

I am going to try to go against my instincts at least a few more times in 2011. I’m aware it won’t always work out as wonderfully as Harriet is working out. But I’m excited to see how doing things differently will pan out for me in the end.

Have you ever stepped outside your comfort zone to wonderful results? How about negative? I’d love to hear your stories.

p.s. If you have any puppy training advice, please send it my way.

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