going to the dogs

For Christmas last fall, I put together a box that had a number of cue cards in it and gave it to R.  On the outside, I wrote 2016 goals.  On each of the cue cards inside, I wrote a goal I wanted to achieve with her in 2016.  Things like:

• Make our house our own
• Go on a vacation somewhere new
• Spend more time in our community
• Work towards welcoming newcomers to our country

The last card, intentionally so, had "Welcome a furry friend" on the front and on the back, "Stop smiling, you've convinced me."  So after 5 years of trying to convince me that a puppy was the best thing ever, I finally agreed to take the plunge and get a dog.  Not that I thought it was the best thing ever, just that I thought it would make my wife very happy and, in turn, would stop her from pestering me to get a puppy every 6 seconds.  I was almost right.

So after doing some research, we decided on a breed and R started researching breeders.  Finally we found one that had a Cockapoo puppy for a less than ridiculous price and R called to get her name on the list for the puppies that would be ready in June.  Near the end of April, she got a phone call asking if we'd be interested in picking up a puppy in 2 days.  And thus the goal was fulfilled.  We welcomed Izzie (Short for Lady Isabelle Crawley - yes, we were watching Downton Abbey at the time) into our home.

Robin had a dog growing up, but this is my first dog.  I never fully realized how much work it is to raise a dog.  When you're visiting someone with a dog, you look at all the things they do as cute or somewhat annoying but you only have to deal with it for a short time.  But when you own the dog, it's always there and everything can either be cute or annoying, depending on how you look at it.

Take for instance attacking feet as you walk.  It's cute to see her pounce on your foot and wrap her legs around your leg while travelling across the room, yet annoying to have her biting your pants or, even worse, your toes.  It hurts!  Another example: whimpering when you leave the room.  Cute that she misses you and thinks you've abandoned her forever, but annoying when it gets loud and piercing 2 seconds later and continues that way.  We were heading out one night and encountered the neighbour on the way out the door.  "I know that sound," she said.  You can hear it from the road at times with the windows and doors closed.  Perhaps this means we just need better windows that are more soundproof, but the separation anxiety is something that we'll need to work on.

So in the past 2 months, I've caught her going to the washroom inside countless times, been bitten, scratched, growled at, and barked at, but I've also been slept on, licked clean, had a constant tag-along, seen a number of cute behaviours, and had someone to keep me company while spending most of my workday at home alone.

R thinks I love the dog.  I'm only admitting I don't hate the dog.  Let's just call it a step in the right direction.