Josh Rhodes: K-9 Officer, Rexburg PD

Well, that title pretty much sums it up. The End! Jk. Basically, to make a long story short, Josh has wanted to be a dog cop since the day he first applied as an officer in Wisconsin. We (or I specifically) did not realize it would happen this soon, but I just am trying to say, "Okay! Not the best timing in the world, but it's your dream!" It just happened kind of quickly because there were some changes in the department that filtered up to leaving two spots open for new K-9 officers. Josh is really excited because there were about seven guys that applied for it within the department and he and his friend were the two they picked.

BUT - here is the crazy part. It almost made us pull out his letter of intent a week ago because one of the job requirements is to attend a 2-week training with your dog in Tennessee! The dates for the training, which were already set in stone by the department because they had to pay for the class, are May 25th to June 10th. Yeah, that's in like... a week.

So, when I got put on bedrest Josh's immediate response was, "Well, I'm just not gonna do it. I'll tell them I can't be considered anymore." But he looked like a sad puppy when he said it and I knew he was majorly bummed. I even talked to his sergeant one night and asked him, "What is the likelihood of this K-9 spot opening up again in a year or two?" and I guess it's pretty slim. So we felt like, if he doesn't do this now, he might not get the chance again for years. So, it's crazy and horrible timing, but we're gonna make it work. My mom is going to come out for the first week he's gone and after that, we'll just see what we can do with neighbors and friends. I will be 30 weeks by the time my mom leaves so at least that's closer! Then I have to hang on 10 more days until Josh gets home. Any time after that, I will feel like I am kind of in the clear.

The new dog will be joining the family at the end of this week. It's a yellow lab, male, named Truck. I guess he is a sniffer dog only, not an attack dog, and he is very mild and well-trained (so they say!)
How we are going from just adding a baby girl to our family this year, to now 2 DOGS as well, I have no idea how that all happened. I told Josh if he so much as brings home a hamster in the next 3 years, he's moving into the playhouse, cause this house is FULL to capacity. And I mean it. Wish me luck in this crazy life we are living!