Tag Archives: #puppiesintraining

Midlife Life, Parenting, Transitional Parenting

Keep going.

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Don't watch the clock do what it does. Keep going..png

It’s been a long day. You will probably hear me say that a lot over the next few of months. The first few months with a new puppy are often exhausting, in the same way, the first 20 years raising children is exhausting.

A few weeks back, we had a heavy wet snow that pulled one of our neighbor’s branches down and sent is spearing through my roof and ceiling. Today, I had my roof replaced, which meant that every time I took the puppy out to relieve, there were grand distractions all around. Now, if you’ve ever potty trained a child or a pup, you know that, on a good day,  50 percent of the work is in catching them at the right time and the other 50 percent is spent cleaning up accidents. So, there is a lot of clock-watching, and predicting and, well, exhaustion because you really can’t let your guard down when you are trying potty train a little one. Timing, as they say, is everything.

I tried to sit down and write a few times today, in between potty trips and playtime and feedings. I waited for naptime to really crack down and knock something out. My attempts proved futile each time. I found myself stressing, watching the clock, and worrying about whether or not this would be the day that broke my writing streak. My 5 day, NaBloPoMo 2017 streak.

The clock is a fickle mistress. We all live by her in one way or another, watching the minutes tick away, wishing for more time to use for _____________ (fill in the blank.) Many of us were given an “extra hour” over the weekend. I’d guess the vast majority used it for sleep unless, of course, you have a small child or a pet. Neither can read time and neither cares about time. They just keep going.

Today, despite my fatigue, I told myself, one way or another, I would get a post up. I told myself to stop watching the clock and to just keep going. And, so I did.

NaBloPoMo 2017

Midlife Life, Parenting, Transitional Parenting

A Birth Announcement

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It’s been a very bittersweet 24 hours. At this time yesterday, I was pulling into our driveway with our sweet new arrival.

Say hello to Alfredo, our 5th puppy from Guide Dogs for the Blind. He follows Keebler, Urvek, Scooby, and Connie.

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And, in our home, he joins Pacific, a career-changed black Lab from Guide Dogs for the Blind. We share Pacific with another puppy raiser and, though he decided he didn’t want to be a guide dog, he is a fabulous mentor pup and our hope is, he’ll be a fabulous therapy dog one day soon.

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Alfredo is spunky and curious and confident. And, he turned 2 months old today.

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So, of course he is teething. But, he’s sure cute.

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Like all the puppies we have both raised and puppy-sat, he knows it, too. Not one has been wrong. They really are all cute, and they all capture our hearts at hello.
Because, how could they not?

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Especially with that little stripe of fur that runs up his nose and creates the letter Y on his forehead.

Yesterday was quite bittersweet.

As my car pulled into place, the reality I had been working so hard to deny came crashing through the thin veil I had used to protect it; just as I opened my heart to welcome our new sweet boy, I could no longer deny the final minutes of time with our sweet, sweet wiggle-butt, Connie, were quickly ticking away. We’d spent the last 17 months together, growing and learning. And, in just over 12 hours, I would drive her north to meet up with the “puppy truck” so she could begin her trip back to the GDB Oregon campus.

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I walked in the door and Connie, in her customary way, wiggled her little bum so hard and fast, I expected her to whip her face with her tail. I reached down to greet her and, just like that, my heart shattered, the dam broke, and tears began streaming down my face. Someday soon, I will share the story of our Connie-girl, but not today. Today, it is all just too raw.

As sweet as the hellos are, the goodbyes really are gut-wrenching. We know that going in. It’s part of the contract, so to speak. Still, and through all the sleepless nights and endless hours of training and heart-shattering goodbyes, it is worth it all, knowing that our small sacrifice might someday change a life.

In many ways, raising a puppy for Guide Dogs for the Blind is a lot like parenting children. As we do with children, our job is always to give them roots and wings, or, as I always tag my puppy photos, to #loveandrelease.

#NaBloPoMo2017