After school on Thursday, Ruth had a hankering to hold puppies, so she, Jeremy and I hopped in the car and headed to the puppy store.

Because we had limited time, I announced we could take out exactly two puppies. This led Ruth to convey once again her dream of working at the puppy store so she can hold all the puppies.

The first little guy we picked was a Newfoundland. He was cute, but preferred hanging out under my legs to playing with the kids.

The bulldog, on the other hand, stole our hearts.

He was working the room with his big paws and scrunchy face.

He loved to cuddle,

and look into our faces, as if asking to come home with us.

It was hard to say no.