Because last Sunday I accepted a new fur baby into my life and my home and boy, is it taking some getting used to. The first three days she was home, I did nothing but cry. My depression kicked in so hard with the sudden change in my schedule and life in general that just looking at her made me weepy, not the sort of reaction most expect a new puppy parent to have but not one that was totally unexpected of me as Joe pointed out as he comforted me for the one millionth time. (After many long phone calls with my best friends back home and my parents who've all done this before, I feel so much better) The cats have been frazzled - Molly has taken to chilling in the baby gated guest room where I keep their food safe, Chico has actually been braver than expected and has attempted a few sniffs here and there. Joe and I have had a week of nearly sleepless nights as the baby gets used to sleeping alone and for longer than an hour or two. I've done no art, nor reading, nor gardening or reading as I allow the baby to explore and keep a hawk eye on her to stop her from cat chasing, furniture chewing or peeing in the house. My life right now is a series of one hour increments in between potty breaks and it is currently stressful.
But lest you think I'm a total grumpy pants, let me show you why I'm trying my level best to be patient and upbeat instead of falling into a sleep deprived fit of murderous rage (because I really am an awful bitch when I don't get 6 hours of straight sleep) and why my life has been turned upside down:
Because seriously? How can you not look at that face and go 'Dammit, this is totally going to be worth it.' The criminally adorable puppy in the photos is Luna, our new baby. She's just 8 weeks old this week and is a mixy mutt - she's 1/2 jack russell, 1/4 corgi and 1/4 dachshund and a total handful. The cats really wish I had consulted them on this before bringing her home and to show his distaste, Molly has been withholding his usual headbutts of affection and quit getting in bed and attempting to spoon me like he does every-single-night. Luna on the other hand, just wants to be their best friend and playmate, which they take as her being an overly energetic jerk who keeps wagging her tail and sniffing and putting her paw in the air to try to play - they don't get the concept of puppy body language. We're working on that, I supervise all of their time together and should she attempt to chase them when they inevitably go 'fuck this shit' and run off I correct her with a quick squirt from the water bottle and a firm 'no.' This method has also worked remarkably well to keep her from biting my toes off while I try to walk across the house. She's all like, screw those chew toys... I spy some premium mommy toes!
And on that note, someone's awake from her nap and needs to go out. I'll be back to writing as soon as things settle down here a bit and I have some more me time again. Take care, lovelies. xoxo
P.S. While I sadly skipped any and all celebration of Beltane aside from just knowing it was there due to a lack of sleep, depression and puppy watching (which made me even more depressed because after Samhain, it's my favorite Sabbat) I did manage to sit outside under our big bright full moon Saturday and recharge my batteries. As I looked up and talked to her, I drifted off to sleep in the lawn chair and woke 45 minutes later a bit dewy and feeling 100,000x times better. In the morning, Joe showed me a nest of freshly hatched baby robins; what that means if anything, I'm not sure. I just know it made me exceptionally happy and that I'll be taking photos (from a safe distance with my telephoto lens so I don't disturb anyone) to document them.
Luna is like her namesake a bright and shiney ball of wonder. How cute is that face. Yes, new puppies are a pain in the ass but so worth it. Our Ellie Mae Scootles because she is still young...totally annoys Sunny Bunny and Odin just ignores her when she goes into one of her.....do you see me being cute rolling on the rug thing. But they all are buddies really.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on the fantom attack on my grandmotherly character. Love you too. Oma Linda
Good luck! I will never get a puppy for that exact reason. If we ever get a dog, its going to be an adult and already trained! Haha! Cats are soooo easy! I love our big boys!
ReplyDeleteIf you plan for him to be a house dog, if you aren'tt already doing this, you might want to paper train her. We are 70 years old and did not want to have to get up at night wiht our dog. We penned him up and put papers all over the floor. That was 6 years ago and it has worked great.
ReplyDeleteit takes cats a while to get used to a new fur baby. I just adopted a new kitten to go with Roxy, the dog, and Sage the cat. But Cinder has shown them all who is boss. They are worth it..persevere ..you will make it.:)( PS Make sure you start training now. )O(
ReplyDeleteIn 1998 I got my first puppy. I had a massive bout of depression for the first week because I thought I wasn't doing anything right and he didn't love me. Funny huh?
ReplyDeleteThat fucking second guessing everything you do thing... that's getting to me still. Of course it doesn't help that apparently half the people we know are either dog wizards, have literally nothing else going on in their lives or tell tall tales because apparently they've potty trained their pups in 4 hours, 3 days or they just KNEW to go outside. Whereas a week later, Luna had 3 accidents in the house today - so clearly I'm a bad pet mom. *sigh*
DeleteI just keep telling myself I'm doing the best I can with the schedules we work, so training will take longer but will come.
Blogger ate my comment. Fucker. Anyway, Dempsey wasn't fully house trained until he was 4 months old. Those bitches that are telling you otherwise are the same assholes who claim their baby started sleeping through the night at 6 days old and was potty trained at 1. It's all bullshit. Having a puppy is HARD. I have lots of dog experience and won't give you all the mindfucking so if you need some help or advice you know where to reach me.
DeleteLuna is beautiful. Congratulations on your new family member. I hope everything hits it's stride soon and you can start feeling more like you.
ReplyDeleteShe is gorgeous! You will look back on these first weeks and smile (crazily) and think "oh, she was so little/cute/fun/cuddly then." I swore I'd never have puppies or kittens - just full-grown pets, and I had both a puppy and kittens. Insanity. But totally worth it. Congrats Mama!
ReplyDeleteShe's adorable! Such a cutie. :0) And a wonderful mix of breeds as well. Puppies are like children - a lot of hard work and sleppless nights. But they are all SO WORTH IT in the end! :0)
ReplyDeletePlease pardon my language, but I have to tell you this: the cuteness of that puppy totally kicks my ass.
ReplyDeleteI've had a new puppy, though it's been awhile. That first couple of months is difficult, but after that it's all love. <3
If you have a fenced in yard, I highly recommend a doggie door. Breaks for you, outside access for pupkin - everybody's happy!