A Dog Named Fletcher

I grew up with dogs. When I was born, we had a huge German Shepard named Wotan.

People who would come to the house would be utterly horrified that my parents would let me anywhere near him because he was so big, but he was amazing with me. He let me pet him, poke around his teeth, and grab his ears — the only time he ever got upset was if I went near his eyes, and even then he would just let out a low warning growl or just walk away.

Then, when I got older, I had Ben. He was a black lab mix that my parents got when I was in 8th grade, right after we moved about 90 miles away from where I grew up. Not sure how familiar you are with 8th grade girls, but let’s just say, I wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around when we moved — I knew not a single soul in our new town, and was not entirely happy with my parents for making me leave all of my friends. 

This guy helped. A lot.

I remember coming home from high school one day after having some dumb fight with a friend {see? I should have listened to my parents, I did end up making friends!}, and thinking the world hated me, and Ben would act like he hadn’t seen me in a month. I vowed then and there that my kids would have a dog growing up.

At the end of last year, after 10 years of wearing Dave down with my constant talk of wanting a dog, he finally relented. The problem was, we could not decide on a name. I had a whole list of names I loved, and Dave didn’t like any of them. When he came up with a name, I shot it down. I was pretty sure we were going to be stuck with a dog named “Dog.”

Then I had the idea of looking online at lab rescue sites to get some more ideas on names, and I saw the sweetest little yellow lab named Fletcher. I suggested that at dinner last night, and everyone loved it. Finally!!  

So now we have this guy. 

I love watching him play with the boys, and when he does stuff like this, I just can’t even take it.

Hilarious.

I just love knowing that he’s going to grow up with my kids and become as important a part of their lives as my dogs were growing up.

The people at Iams totally get this. They put out the most amazing video, A Boy and His Dog Duck, to illustrate the lifelong bond between a kid and their dog. Grab your tissues, people, it’s a doozy.

I MEAN! I can’t even.

For more information on IAMS™ products, visit www.iams.com, www.facebook.com/Iams or www.twitter.com/IAMS.

So you tell me: what’s your dog’s name? Do you have a cool story of how he or she got that name, or are you like me and just kept suggesting one until it stuck??

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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