National Dog Day

Welcome back to Taylor Talks!

Is this not a gorgeous rainbow? My dad came home from work today and the rain was just clearing up. He asked my mom and me if we had seen the rainbow and pointed it out. I'm pretty sure it was the first rainbow we've seen since we got here. It was so clear right behind our house, and it brought a smile to my face. It rains every day here during the summer, but this was the first time that it ended in such a beautiful display.

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Along with the cheery rainbow, I got some great news from a friend today that brought a big smile to my face. In just a few short weeks, one of my friends from college is going to be at Disney! I'm so excited, because that means that I can take an afternoon and drive down to meet up with her. I miss all of my friends so much, so this was exactly the kind of news that I needed to make me feel slightly less homesick. I'm really hoping that the stars align and I don't have work that day (assuming I actually get a job before then, which better be the case).

So today is a fun day that's getting a lot of attention on social media... I'd like to wish everyone a very happy National Dog Day! I got my very first dog when I was just three years old, and she made me a dog lover for life. Now, I'm lucky to have two wonderful dogs who can always make you feel better by just laying next to you. Since it's National Dog Day, I thought I'd share the stories of where we got our dogs' names from.

My very first dog was Maxie. Like I said, I was three years old when we got her, and I didn't care what anyone else thought because I was naming her myself. Well I don't know where the idea came from, but I was completely stuck on the name Max. The only problem, as my mom pointed out to me, was that we had gotten a girl puppy, and though I could go with Max if I wanted to, it wasn't really a girl name. So since I've always been a bit of a smarty pants, I decided that I would just change it slightly and go with Maxie. That -ie ending really made it a girl's name, don't you think? Well I stuck to my guns and my mom let us name her Maxie. We had her for many years, until I developed allergies to the dander that's found in dog fur. Since Maxie was a German Shepard/Lab mix, she shed a lot. Unfortunately, my family had to decide between keeping me or keeping the dog, which meant that the dog had to go. Luckily though, my dad had a friend from work who lived on the beach on Long Island, and Maxie went to live there where she could live out her days running along the waterfront. I don't know if she's still alive, probably not, but I like to think that she had a good life after we had to say good-bye to her.

When I was in eighth grade, a few years had passed since we had let go of Maxie. The house seemed lonely without a dog (yes, even with all of the kids in it), and my mom and I convinced my dad that we needed another dog. We found this calm, lovable Bichon Frise who let me hold him like a baby. We fell in love with him, and we figured that my dad would be happy because he wasn't wild. We decided to name the dog something that would resonate with my dad. Being a plumber, my dad has a favorite type of pipe to work with, and that's copper pipe. Well the dog actually had copper coloring right around his eyes. It was a perfect match, and we took Copper home.

My freshman year of college, I had been doing research on other hypoallergenic dog breeds. I found out about the Mi-Ki, which is the only AKC recognized mixed dog breed. They're super tiny (less than 10 pounds fully grown), and they're a mix of Maltese, Papillon, and Japanese Chin. My parents weren't entirely sold on getting another dog, especially since I was away at school most of the time, but I had my heart set on one particular puppy that I had seen online. I told my mom that if someone else chose that puppy (one person had already mentioned an interest in the litter), then I would drop the matter. But luckily that lady chose another puppy and I was able to convince my dad to let me get this little cutie. We had such a hard time coming up with a name, but shortly before we got her, I had heard a beautiful name on television. The main couple on one of my favorite shows, Grey's Anatomy, had adopted a little girl named Zola from Africa. I loved the name, and everyone else approved, so that was it. We had our own little Zola in the house.

Whether you're naming a baby, a puppy, or talking about a child's name upon adoption, I think all names are important and they should have some kind of story connected to them. I'll have to share the story behind my own name one night, because that's a really awesome story... much better than the dog stories! I hope everyone enjoyed a cuddle with their dogs for National Dog Day!

Maxie

Copper

Zola

Thank you so much for your continued support! I look forward to sharing more stories about my experience with foster care, and hopefully hearing from readers who have questions or similar stories to share. I'm always willing to answer questions and hear about other experiences! Please don't forget to like and share my Facebook author page as well!

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Thanks!
Taylor

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