A Puppy Changes Things

“PUPPY CLAWS! Her name is Puppy Claws!” Danny (5) is pretty adamant about this. I nearly spit out my coffee. I wish I had written down all the names we brainstormed, because some of them were real gems. After days of tears and fighting (and probably splitting the dog’s personality because of all the different names), Dave and I chose a name: Maple.

But if you know us, you know that a dog wasn’t part of our plan.

Most days I look at our pup and can’t believe we actually have a dog. What were we thinking?

Should We Get a Dog?

Obviously I can only answer for our family, but I’ll share our considerations when we decided to get a dog. Like almost every huge decision we’ve ever made, we didn’t think this one through. LOL. Maria (8) had been asking for a while. The boys (5&9) were interested in the idea. I had always thought that maybe someday we would add a dog to our family. Dave had always been unsure.

This surely wasn’t the time. We’re in a rental. We have a very small backyard. We will be moving again. We want to travel. We want to stay with family for extended amounts of time. Not the right time. But then month FIVE of Covid started sucking our souls, Dementor-like. Dave and I discussed the puppy idea. I connected with the co-founder of the rescue Sato Saved on FB-- she had a pup that would be a great fit for us, and we could bring her home in 2 days. DONE. So all the careful planning, thinking, and checklists? Yeah… didn’t happen.

Here’s what we considered: s/he would bring us all some joy. That’s it.

Here’s what we should have considered: breed, size, puppy vs. dog, adopt vs. breeder, cost, poop disposal, training, equipment, travel, girl vs. boy, name. Probably others… there are extensive amounts of information on all of these items all over the internet. Honestly, all I did was check out the rescue. I didn’t put a thought to any of these other things before committing. And then I had 1.5 days to get everything we needed! During a partial-lockdown!

Best Advice… Go For It!

If you’re considering a dog and you can afford it, go for it!

Yes, life will be more complicated. Your house will be dirtier. You will have another responsibility, another “person” to care for. You will have to train her. You will be up in the night, just like with a newborn. Your doors will get scratched, your things will get chewed. You will spend a lot of money on medicine, vet visits, supplies, training, and food.

BUT…

The joy! The love! The snuggles!

Our girl Maple has taught us so much, too. We are learning to be kind and gentle to animals, to let her win at games, to look out for her needs and help her be a good puppy. The children have taken on a lot of responsibility: they feed her, walk her, help train her, and play with her. The past few months have been filled with fun, laughter, chaos, disaster, tears, learning, sleepless nights, extra coffee, lots of clothes with holes, and adorable pictures.

But the bottom line is love. We all love her so much!

Danny (5) told me, “Mom, I have so much love in my heart for her!” which is the first time I heard these words of mine come from him. Melt my heart! He also told me, “I love her and Maple loves me. She makes our family better than ever.”

I agree. She brings a level of chaos we didn’t know we needed, and she’s made all of our hearts so much bigger.