Still looking at the puppy in the window

I have a weakness … dogs. I have always appreciated the companionship and protection their wet noses offer.

After graduating from college I figured I would be tied down with a leash in a few short months. Here it is years later and I'm dogless.

I blame … the non-sympathatic boyfriend who we will call "Dean." OK, so he's not mean, just very rational and doesn't give in when I become completely irrational around furry faces and little sloppy kisses.

Without his stern guidance I would have adopted every stray, crippled or rabid animal in the neighborhood. Yes, even rabid.

I grew up with working dogs. Cow dogs who more than once chased off individuals trying to steal gas from the machinery in our back yard. To this day I don't feel safe without a dog around.

One of the slickest moves to get a puppy was one my little sister pulled off in high school. One afternoon she and her best friend came home with a puppy.

The story they created involved finding the mutt stranded in a box next to the highway (things like this happen often in the country). My mother must have looked skeptical, and in an effort to persuade her my little sister's best friend volunteered, "the lady said she had all her shots."

Needless to say the dog my little sister swore would go with her everywhere still lives happily with my parents (along with two cats).

One day "Dean" had a genius moment and threw me for a loop by saying "let's get a dog." I didn't realize at the time he was using reverse psychology.

With the sudden opportunity to get the dog of my choice, I kept hearing his voice in my head saying "you will have this dog for the next 20 years."

I spent hours on www.puppyfind.com only to realize that I was a commitment-phobe. I needed to do some more research to find my perfect dog.

His other reason for saying no might also be the fact that I wanted my future dog to be a Great Dane.

The dane obsession first started when Paris Hilton started prancing around with a dog in a purse. News flash: Dogs have legs. To counter the small dog craze I decided to go for one of the largest breeds out there.

I've been told I'm crazy for wanting a "miniature horse," and that I'll have to purchase a Bobcat to clean up Great Dane poo from the back yard.

These things don't phase me when I consider the comfort of protection this dog could offer. No one is going to mess with an animal who weighs 170 pounds and is 35 inches at the shoulder.

I'm still searching for the "right one" and it drives "Dean" crazy when he finds me searching the Internet for puppies. Someday or hmmm … "Dean" or Dane?

Jonda Pingetzer is the puppy crazed design chief for the Columbia Basin Herald. She can be seen scouring the Web for Great Danes and French Bulldogs (so ugly they're cute) alike.