We added a new member to our family.  Meet Charly:

She is a three year old St. Bernard/Pyrenees mix and we’re head over heels.  A true, gentle giant. You can really see her size in this photo I snapped with my phone:

We have talked on and off about getting a dog, but I wasn’t so ecstatic about going through the puppy stages of chewing and house training, and we wanted something on the large size so Greta could comprehend he/she wasn’t a toy.  We hit the dog lottery with Charly and completely bypassed the puppy stage, and she weighs 4x what Greta does.  It’s no secret we have been anxious to expand our family with no luck in the baby department.  While infertility has been tough on Chris and I, we feel even worse for Greta–who desperately needs a friend, a companion, someone to play with!  As I was searching our local online classifieds, Charly’s former family was looking for a new home for her with a spacious, fenced-in yard (their new place was tiny!) and just like that, we jumped at the opportunity to learn more.

While Chris grew up with dogs, Charly is my very first. Eeee!!! So when she breathes heavy, I worry. When she coughs, I ask if it’s normal.  I’m learning, but already in love.