For almost 2 years now, Joey has been begging me to let him get a dog. I've said no for 2 years. I didn't want the mess, the work, and the trouble of taking care of a dog. We both work full time and have very busy lives. Our cat, Spike, was enough maintenance for me.
But this last time I caved. Maybe it was the fact that we both turned 29 years old this month, and I felt the need to give Joey a special gift for this last year in our 20's. Maybe it was just a change of heart toward my husband's feelings. Maybe it was something else. But I couldn't say "no" any more.
So, last week, Joey - who had already been searching online for litters of puppies for sale - found our new little family member from a local breeder. Meet Rosalita (aka Rose)...
Rose is a mixed breed - half yellow Lab and half Siberian husky. Her body shape represents the lab and her color markings are all husky. I die for her eyes. They're beautiful. We picked her up at just 7 weeks old for $400.
Joey was instantly in love her. It took me a few days to warm up to her.
While most people think, "Oooh, she's gonna be a big dog with that mix!", her parents were actually medium sized dogs for their breed, and Rose was the runt of the litter. So, we're hoping for a not-too-big dog. Maybe 50-60 lbs.
When we brought her home, she was very timid and sleepy. She would run around the coffee table 4 times and then pass out.
Spike was very unhappy about becoming a sibling to a thing as detestable as a dog. I could see him "rolling his eyes" in his mind. Oh bother.
Spike glares at Rose and has stayed away from her most of the time. The puppy is becoming more and more curious about Spike and has made several attemps at interacting with him. Most often it involves Rose getting right in Spike's face as if to kiss him, and then Spike sloooowly backing up and eventually taking a swing for her head. Rose just gallops off as if nothing bad has happened.
The last week has been fun as we've seen her becoming really energetic and spunky. She loves to run around in circles for hours and play. She wears us out. She knows her name now. She listens to the word "no" pretty well. The potty training is still a work in progress though.
I will say that owning a puppy has got to be like prep work for having a baby. Getting up late at night to let her go potty. Cleaning up after her "accidents". Feeding her. Playing with her. Wearing her out so she'll sleep through the night (got that twice this week). Training her. Thankfully, Joey takes on most of these responsibilities willingly since he wanted her so much. But I've done my fair share of helping out too.
And we have wonderful dog-loving neighbors who offered (for free!) to come over at noon each day (while we're at work) and let her out to eat, go potty, and even come over to their yard and have play time with their 1 year old dog. The 2 dogs are becoming fast friends. The report yesterday said they played for a couple HOURS together. Rose chewed on all the other dog's toys (like the foam bottle seen below) and eventually fell asleep in the other dog's kennel.
We are pretty smitten with Rose. I guess that's why they call it puppy love. You just can't help but love her. Puppy breath and all.
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