Tag: puppy

We Are Learning

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My daughter is at her Dad‘s, so I filled her shoes this morning, and took care of the puppo.

The puppy is sleeping in a crate at night in my daughter’s room, but I could hear it’s pleas for freedom. The next thing I noticed was how spoiled I’ve become waking up on my schedule.

When you open the kennel, she bolts out, full of energy! We should wake up like that every morning.

Excited to be alive and having a new day.

It seems like a long time since she brought home a puppy. She loves dogs and would have 48 if possible, so we’ve had a few dogs come in and out of our life.

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Our home one year ago. Denver sunning on the step.  

They always came with a purpose.

One stayed with us for 14 years while others were just passing through to their forever home. Two years ago, I walked into the barn to find one curled up on moving boxes. It was a big dog and startled me. Living out in the country people love to drop off dogs, and our little house looked like a good home.

I questioned the timing of getting another dog. She leaves in 10 days for England and doesn’t return until the new year. Guess who’s caring for puppo?

“You’re getting puppies instead of grand-kids.”, she says.

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My future life. anoir-chafik-37957-unsplash

This morning would be different if my daughter were here. My daughter gets excited over puppo.

The puppo can feel her energy, and would be more energetic. After I released her from her kennel, I took her and her energy outside. I stood there and watched, but didn’t get excited, or encourage hyper behavior, I let her get it all out. Once back inside I missed my daughter making the Chemex.

She has about 30 minutes of puppy behavior every morning before she’s done and laying at my feet. That is how I know she has the good dog in her.

She lays at my feet while I write. She doesn’t run off creating chaos, causing me to leave the keyboard, and my train of thought. She waits for my move.

‘You are your environment’ works through dogs too.

My daughter returns home from her Dad’s today, but I wonder what puppo will be like when she returns from England? She’ll be gone almost four weeks, which seems like a long time for all of us.

The puppy will grow, but maybe I will too. I’d like to hop out of bed in the morning like she bolts out of her kennel. Maybe her purpose is to spark excitement, and mine is to show her about calm.

One morning at a time, we are learning.

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Paper Towels and Snowmen

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When life is perfectly in sync and has been flowing seamlessly for a while…get a puppy. This will make you appreciate all the time you had to keep everything in balance. I woke up this morning and popped a K Cup in the Keurig, and sat down with a steaming cup of Vanilla Biscotti coffee. This is when I start my time with God, before I’m fully awake and my brain starts spinning off the schedule for the day.

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We brought a puppy home yesterday, so this morning I sat the cup of coffee on the chair side table and grabbed him out of his kennel before he pooped. I’ve had a ranch, so poop doesn’t bother me. It’s how it’s arranged and where it’s placed that bothers me. I grab little Augustus, Gus for short, and outside we go.

He is learning that this makes me very happy when he goes outside. He is also getting the hint I’m not so happy when he pees or poops on the carpet in the den. It’s a process and a big learning curve for Gus and me. Being an Australian Cattle Dog, I know he can get this. If his ancestors can herd cattle, Gus can poop outside.

When we purchased this little bundle of joy, my daughter and I went to the store to look at toys. The after Christmas aisle had one Snowman chew toy hanging all alone, so of course, we had to get it. Gus loves his Snowman and chews on it instead of us.

What I learned this morning, as I sat with a puppy curled up in my lap, sipping my still warm coffee is….God is not going to leave me. That is a promise my friend. I may have to alter my schedule a for a little while, but Gus is not going to be a puppy forever. Just like children, they grow up fast, and we tend to their needs a lot like a baby.

Life is short. We are to savor every moment and see the beauty in it. The pee spot he made on the carpet right after coming inside may not look like beauty, but that’s where the paper towels covered in cheerful looking Snowmen will help.

 

A Happy Moment

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We met in the kitchen, staring at one another with that wide-eyed look of, “What do we do?”

It had been eight years since I had heard that noise requiring attention. It was almost 4 am, and this had been going on for a little while. The high-pitched cry, squeal and whining noise coming from the next room, had woken us up, and it was time for action. Not sure what type, we were going to have to dive in and start marking things off the list until happiness resumed.

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This picture is my daughter, Bailey, and it describes her perfectly. She took this a couple of days ago, and when she showed it to me, my heart melted. I could see she wasn’t a little girl anymore and she was growing into a beautiful young lady. Wearing her Vintage, Polo golf hat and resting her arm on her treasured Taylor guitar.

She’s been wanting a puppy for months. We have been talking it through, and praying for the right time and the right dog to enter our lives. We knew that a neighbor’s Australian Cattle Dog, had given birth to a litter around Thanksgiving, so we went to look at them. Need I say more?

The sounds that woke us up in the middle of the night was her new puppy. We went through a series of activities trying to meet his basic needs. I finally held him close up against me and he fell asleep. All he wanted was to feel loved and secure. Just like us.

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As I walked by her bedroom door this morning, I peeped in looking for the pup. He was sound asleep with her in the bed. Coming into the den with coffee in hand, it occurred to me that she could handle this.

Proverbs 22:6, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” She’s old enough now to do so many things without my assistance. My hope is that she will pass me and do more! It’s a hard to admit, but at the same time, it’s a happy moment.