Day 115 – A Year of Gratitude and Joy – Puppy Prep: Take 1

Greg and I are both dog people. We’ve each had dogs most of our lives. But, when we got together we moved to a “no pets” apartment building. It was tough! Greg loves to tell the story of the time he took me to a PetSmart adoption day and paid the pet rescue organization $50 just so I could play with a couple of the dogs for a while. I needed puppy time.

We’ve talked about getting a dog for years. The biggest things that stopped us were our love for travel and the fact that we had a two-seater car … I mean, where would we put a fur baby? So, when we recently took the dive and bought a second vehicle, it took about a week before Greg suggested we look into getting a puppy.

We talked about breeds and adoption options for about a week … big or small? Purebred or rescue mix? Puppy or older? How much older? We’ve both had big and little dogs, so it was a fun discussion about our personal philosophy of dogs, grooming needs and training styles.

We kept coming back to the travel thing. We love spontaneous trips and last-minute adventures. We love our play days. Are we sure we want the challenge that comes with trying to maintain that lifestyle with a dog? YEP! And that made it easy to go with a small dog. I grew up with a dachshund, so I kinda pushed for another in my life and Greg agreed.

About a week ago, the breeder I found let me know the puppies have been born! I shrieked with glee. The first pics are a little fuzzy, but she knew I’d be excited, so she sent an image of the new mom with her litter. 

Now the real work begins! We have eight-or-so weeks to turn our home into a puppy friendly living space. We’ve already ripped out the five Oleanders in the backyard because they are poisonous for pets (and people), and replaced them with “sky flowers.”

I’ve pinged a couple of new puppy parents for advice and created a wish list on Amazon for items I can start accumulating. A neighbor is even considering throwing us a puppy shower! It’s coming together and I am bouncing with joy! I’ll keep you all posted!

There’s a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Share your love of travel with a four-legged partner, too.

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