So let me start by saying… 13 years ago my husband and I agreed to be a one-pet household. Just one dog. Simple, clean, manageable.

Fast forward to today: We now have 2 dogs, 6 fish, 8 chickens, twin boys, and approximately zero self-control when it comes to cute animals.

But let’s rewind a little.

🐾 Domino: The Not-So-Small Puppy

A year into dating, I (okay, mostly me) decided we were ready to get a pet together. I’m super allergic to cats, so a dog it was! My husband was hesitant, but agreed — one small or medium dog would be fine while we were living in a duplex.

At the shelter, we found a sweet little black-and-white puppy with floppy ears. The staff told us she was a lab, and her mom only weighed about 30 pounds. Sounded perfect!

We brought her home and named her Domino.

Two weeks later at the vet, she weighed in at 16 pounds (up from 6). I didn’t think much of it—puppies grow, right?

Then the vet walked in, took one look, and said:

“Wow, what a beautiful lab-GREAT DANE you have!”

Excuse me, what now?

Yep. Domino is now 13 years old, 100 pounds, and still the sweetest “small dog” we ever adopted.

🎲 Dice: The Sketchy Shelter Special

A year later, I decided Domino needed a friend. My husband wasn’t thrilled, reminding me of the “one dog” agreement, but as he likes to say, “She wore me down.”

So we went to a new shelter… and wow. 🚩Red flags everywhere.

• There were no girl puppies (even though that’s what the listing said).
• The puppies were completely covered in poop.
• The spay tattoo? Not a cute shape. Just… a serial number.
• There was ONE employee working. On a Saturday.

Still, we brought home a cute, spotted boy and named him Dice to match Domino. He was listed as a cattle dog mix and seemed like he’d be a nice, manageable size.

Spoiler: Dice grew into a 70-pound wild card.

🧠 Ryder, Autism, and the Bunny That Broke Us

Years later, our twin boys were 4. Ryder, our autistic son, loved our dogs — but they were too big, too old, and not interested in cuddles.

I started researching pets that were good for autistic kids. A small, manageable animal they could care for. We started with a fish tank — great, but not huggable.

So I convinced my husband (again) that we needed a dwarf bunny.

Enter Penelope. She was 2 pounds of pure fluff, and Ryder loved her. He fed her, cleaned her cage, carried her everywhere. It was beautiful.

But… within 48 hours, my husband’s eyes were nearly swollen shut. We tried to wait it out, but eventually had to make the hard call: Penelope needed a new home. Thankfully, one of our sweet teachers adopted her, and that softened the blow.

🏈 Dozer: The Football Puppy (and the One That Bit Back)

Feeling bad that we had to rehome the bunny, my husband (finally) said yes to a new small puppy.

We found an 8-week-old, 1-pound shih tzu and named him Dozer. He was tiny. Feisty. Adorable.

Domino — our 100-pound Great Dane lab — was terrified of him.

Ryder carried him around like a football, and wherever Ryder went, Dozer followed. Everything was going great… until it wasn’t.

As Dozer got older, his behavior changed. The chaos of our house didn’t mix well with his small dog syndrome, and he became aggressive — first with the kids, then with me. Ryder, who doesn’t always pick up on physical cues, was getting bitten. It wasn’t safe.

We found Dozer a quiet, loving home with an older woman who just wanted a lap dog. It was the right choice, but it still stung.

🐕 Dice’s Goodbye, and the Joy of Delilah

Around this time, Dice developed a large tumor on his face overnight. It was fast, and it was painful. We made the incredibly hard decision to let him go. (More to come in another post about how we navigated that with the boys.)

While we were grieving Dice, the house felt too quiet. Domino was lonely. Ryder missed having a dog to love on.

Enter our newest addition: Delilah, a spunky 9-month-old aussiedoodle with endless energy and a heart full of love. She fit right into the chaos and brought Domino back to life.

🐓 Current Brooks House Roll Call (And Why I Can’t Remind My Husband What We Agreed To)

So let’s do a quick roll call of who’s currently living in the Brooks household:

• 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 2 grownups
• 👦👦 2 wild and wonderful twin boys
• 🐟 6 fish (60-gallon tank)
• 🐕 Domino the lab-Great Dane
• 🐕 Delilah the aussiedoodle
• 🐔 8 chickens

And that little voice in my head still whispering… “just one more won’t hurt…”