Seven Years with Chloe

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I never thought I’d be a dog person, let alone a dog mom. But after years (and years!) of campaigning, first by my husband and then by my children, we adopted our toy poodle, Chloe, seven years ago this week.

Chloe is here for everybody in our family. She was the first one I saw when I came home from dropping off my youngest child at college. I teared up and thanked G-d I still had someone to care for while adjusting to being an empty nester. Chloe is here when Jenna comes home to visit. Her tail wags like crazy when she walks through the door. When they sit on the couch together, it is like best friends who haven’t seen each other in a long time. They pick up right where they left off.

Chloe welcomes Scott home after a long day at work. They have a routine. He sings a silly song to her, and she responds with a dance around the coffee table. I think people refer to Chloe’s dance as having the “Zoomies.” It’s the cutest thing ever. When Scott is home, she wants to be as close to him as possible—whether that is snuggled up next to him in the den cheering on the Phillies or hopping into her custom backpack for a walk around the park. Did you know Chloe is a real trendsetter?! People who see them walking by always comment about how cute the dog is in the backpack. We expect to see many doggie backpacks around the neighborhood next summer.

Chloe is here for Andrew too. It took some time for her to warm up to Andrew, but now he is her constant playmate. If he is in his bedroom sleeping, she will stand at his door and bark at him to wake up and play. If we throw her favorite toy across the room, she won’t return it to us. But when Andrew does it, she brings it back—some of the time. Other times, she looks at Andrew as if to say, “Are you going to fetch that for me?” And he does because Chloe has trained him well. 😉

I can’t believe seven years have passed since we brought her home. I admit I was nervous that day because I’d never had a pet before. Of course, minutes after her foster mom left, Chloe chose me to lie down and curl up next to first. It was like she knew I was the outlier and was letting me know everything would be okay. And Chloe was right because I love her as much as my kids. I worry about her when she isn’t acting like herself. And last week, when she went to the vet for dental surgery, I found the house to be too quiet without her. If I could bring her on vacation with us, I would. She is a part of the family.

Happy Gotcha Week, Chloe!

XO,

Elisa