My girls have been hounding me for a dog for two years now. I told Amina 10 that if she wanted a dog she would have to write a 5 page research paper on how to train, feed and care for a dog. Amina doggedly pursued her goal. She interviewed all her dog owning friends, browsed the web, read books and diligently watched the Dog Whisperer.www.cesarsway.com

Late in October, a friend kindly asked if I would care for her year and a half old Jack Russell Terrier for a weekend. I thought a hyper terrier would be a good dry run to get the girls used to the rigors of owning a dog. I knew a spry pup would alert my wife Desepe; the first line of defense against having a dog.

In walked Buster; a tail wagging, five foot high jumping, ball of energy. He jumped into my arms, ran circles around the girls in the yard, sniffed the baby and nudged him and then snuggled into Desepe’s lap.

At the start of the week my friends asked if we wanted to keep the dog because their apartment and schedule did not allow for a high energy dog.

I called a family meeting and asked for a vote. 1 year old Antonio voted an emphatic no three times in a row with a loud uh uh and a head shake. (He voted Chicago style; early and often.) The girls voted yes. I voted no. (Who do you think will get stuck walking this dog in the freezing cold!) Desepe voted yes. My first line of defense was won over by the ol’ lap dog trick. The vote was 3 to 2 in favor of a dog.

Aha… but what about the paper. There it was on the computer 5 pages with all kinds of text features. We adopted Buster.

Amina walks him before she goes to school and when she comes home and in the evening after ballet. Walking with them for twenty minutes is great cardio work, and an excellent opportunity to talk about anything.

Adopt a dog and exercise your heart.