Who's dog is it?

It's a daily topic of conversation around this household.. "who's dog is it?". As most of you know, we, (or I, or possibly Boston, as we are still trying to figure out who should take ownership of the dog) have been blessed with a "special dog". 7 years ago in May I thought I needed a dog. I was single and felt like I needed a dog to keep me company and to fill up some of my free time. So one afternoon I headed to Sioux Falls determined I was coming home with a dog. I wound up at Mini Critters and immediately fell in love with a little shitzu puppy. I had a shitzu growing up and should have known they were NOT a good fit for me, as our dog "Misty" when I was little gave us horrible troubles! However, that day at the pet store the memories of Misty didn't cross my mind, and this little puppy's cuteness won me over. I left Sioux Falls that day with a $350 dog whom I named Jaxon. Over the years (basically since Derek entered the picture) Jaxon has been a horribly misbehaved dog! I think it's that he just despises Derek because I swear he never acted this way the first few years I had him! Now that Boston is getting old enough to do simple chores around the house, he gets stuck with the dog chores. When we get home, it is Boston's job to go to the kennel and let Jaxon out, and make sure he gets outside to go to the bathroom. Boston also fills Jaxon's food and water dishes. Boston is a smart 4 year old, and lately he's catching on to Jaxon being "special", and will say under his breath "that dumb dog!". A few weeks ago I asked Boston to let Jaxon out and he said "he's not my dog mom".. I was shocked, and of course I got to thinking, "well who's dog is it then?!" I joke with Derek quite a bit that the dog is his. He absolutely hates Jaxon and this just gets him riled up :) I know that if something were to ever happen to me that Jaxon would go right with me. Is the dog mine since I bought him? Is the dog "ours" since we are a family, and Derek says that when you become a family you share your belongings?! Or is the dog Bostons? Boston and Jaxon enjoy pestering each other, and seem to have a good bond so it seems appropriate that it would be Boston's dog? If Boston wants to go outside in the backyard to play and I'm busy, he'll say "mom i'm taking Jaxon outside with me", and the two of them wander outside to play. Boston swings, or plays in the sandbox and the dog sits in the grass and watches him. I guess that's what happens when you don't have siblings to play with... you end up playing with your dog. Well anyway, I could go and on about our dog. Maybe i'll share more stories of Jaxon in another blog post. For now, we'll just say the dog is Derek's :)