Leigh Anne Jasheway - Date Me, Date My Dog: Finding Mr. Right for You and Your Pack

Date Me, Date My Dog

Finding Mr. Right
for You and Your Pack

Leigh Anne Jasheway

Reputation Books.www.reputationbooksonline.com

DATE ME, DATE MY DOG. Electronic Edition. Copyright 2013 by Leigh Anne Jasheway. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Reputation Books, .

Cover Design: Kevin Hedenstad.

A portion of proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit animals at the Greenhill Humane Society in Eugene, OR.

www.green-hill.org

Wags to

Copper, Slate, Maddy Lou, Justin, Penny, and Watson for sharing their doggy love with me over the past 28 years, and for the dogs I know I will share my life and sofa with down the road all the humans in my life who consider me a normal woman, despite my having dachshund PJs and a mechanical wiener dog that sings Low Rider on my dining room table to Jean, the worlds best dog-sitter, who allows me to occasionally leave home to Tom, Cary, and Bill for showing me that there are men out there who are just as dog-crazy as many of my girlfriends are to Charles Schultz, whose book, Happiness is a Warm Puppy opened my eyes to doggy love when I was a young girl to Elizabeth Kracht for believing in this project even when others turned tail and ranand to Greenhill Humane Society for allowing me to occasionally cheat on my dogs with hundreds of other hounds who need some love and attention.

Introduction

I decided not to date a guy because he wasnt excited to meet my dog. I mean, this was like not wanting to meet my mother.

Bonnie Schacter

Dating can be frustrating, exhausting, exasperating, awkward, and doggone complicated. If youre a single woman with a dog in your life, the whole process is even trickier because youre not dating for one; youre dating for the pack.

Lets face it, you dont own your dog, nor is he or she a hobby or phase youll eventually move past. Youre in love with those soulful eyes, that inquisitive snout, and that happy tail that greets you the instant you walk through the door. You may even consider yourself a single mom, only your kid is slightly hairier and rolls her eyes less often than a human kid would. Loving your dog isnt what you do, its who you are. Your devotion to your dog is so deeply ingrained that under a microscope your DNA may actually spell out Dog Nutty Always.

You deserve to date men who not only accept this about you, but embrace it and you completely.

Sometimes you may feel crazy for loving Ozzy or Tater this much, especially if the guys youve been out with have reinforced that feeling. You may also feel that youre the only woman in the dating universe being so demanding, insisting that any man you date accept you and the fuzz ball in your life. The good news is you are not alone.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, approximately 43% of all American households have at least one dog. Ninety percent of us consider our pets to be part of our family, with more than 2/3 of us buying gifts for their birthdays and holidays. In 2010 we spent almost $51 million on our animal companionsproving that dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and hamsters have no concept of economic crisis. More than half of us talk to our animals on the phone when were away and 42% of us who have dogs let them sleep with us (or they let us sleep with them; its hard to tell which is true).

Eighty-three percent of pet guardians say we would risk our lives for them. In fact, a woman in Alaska recently rescued her small dog by punching a bear in the nose. What mother wouldnt do the same?

Why wouldnt we share our lives with canine Americans when they provide unconditional love, lower our stress, relieve loneliness, protect us, encourage us to exercise, provide free entertainment, offer the cheapest and best kind of therapy, help us laugh even when were not in the mood and have kisses with anti-bacterial properties? Whats not to love? In fact, according to a listener poll on DogCatRadio, 70% of the women surveyed said they would marry their dogs if they could. Clearly, if youre crazy, youre in good company!

There are millions of women in the world who are trying to balance having a relationship with a human and a canine at the same timewomen like you who cant imagine life without a dog in it women who make animal welfare and rescue part of their lifes purpose celebrity women who use their voices on behalf of dogs, cats, and other animals who cant speak for themselves (Katherine Heigl, Taylor Swift, Lisa Edelstein, Jillian Michaels, Pink, Sarah McLachlin, Betty White, Hilary Swank, Kara DioGuardi and Ellen DeGeneres, for example). Many are dating or have dated and found a life partner all while staying true to their pooches and themselves. Chart-topping country singer Miranda Lambert, for example, is not only a self-professed dog mom, but has her own animal rescue foundation, MuttNation (muttnationfoundation.com). She dated, fell in love with and married fellow country singer and dog-lover, Blake Shelton. In fact, three of their seven adopted dogs took part in their nuptials. Apparently the other four already had plans that day.

In a fairytale world, every dog-loving woman would quickly and easily be able to find the dog-loving mate of her dreams. Your prince charming would not only be cute, sensitive, stable, honest, loving, financially secure, fun-loving and aware of where both the florist and the pet store are locatedhed also love you and your pup. Youd be able to tell just by looking into his puppy dog eyes that this man has been searching for the two hearts, six legs and one tail (or whatever combination describes you and your pack) he knows will finally make him feel complete.

Unfortunately, dating is almost never that easy and sometimes Mr. Right turns out to be Mr. Right, Like Im Going to Let the Dog Watch While Were Making Out. Or Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome becomes Mr. Tall, Dark, and Sneezy whenever hes in the same room with your four-legged companion. The good news is that there are many great guys out there who are eager to date you and will treat you and Skittles in the manner you both deserve. Some are woman-and-dog-loving men who just havent found the right pair to partner with yet. Many others are guys just not in tune with their canine side yet. They may even claim not to be dog people, but deep down, their inner pup is whining to get out. All these men need is the right woman and the right dog to open their eyes (and ears and nose) to a fuller, happier, and squirrel-filled life.

Hows this for a real life fairytale? A songwriter named John Shipe recently fell in love with a woman who was crazy about pit bulls and her pitty, Zoe. Not only did he date and then marry her, he wrote a song called Pit Bull Rescue Woman (you can view it on YouTube). When interviewed about the song, John said, I had never had a dog before, wasnt a dog person, but I fell in love with this one. All three are happily married now.

Finding a man who checks off all the boxes on both your and your four-footed family members lists can be dauntingbut it is well worth it. This book will help you learn some new tricks for dating and building relationships with guys who will adore you for being the loving, loyal, responsible, compassionate, and not-freaked-out-by-a-little-dirt-on-the-floor-or-hair-in-the-tub woman you are.Date Me, Date My Dog