Friend and a Mole

 Yesterday afternoon, while Timmy and I were walking Friend, the little pup started frantically tracking. He has been sniffing around a lot, which is no surprise because we live in the woods with a lot of wildlife, but yesterday his efforts were amplified. We allowed him to follow his nose and to explore until he settled on a pile of leaves towards the end of our driveway.

After a few seconds with his nose in the leaf pile, Friend emerged with a small grey ball in his mouth. I quickly realized that the ball used to be alive. I began to panic and pleaded with him to drop the ball.  He was not compliant with my requests, and the more he began to chomp the more I began to freak out. 

I finally ended up throwing the entire handful of treats in his direction with the hopes that he would drop his "snack." The treats distracted him long enough to drop the partially eaten grey ball. I quickly grabbed it with a leaf, vomited in the road and threw the remains deep into the woods. Almost instantaneously Friend was lapping up the vomit on the road which, of course, caused me to heave with greater intensity.

I tried to move the critter without looking, but I was able to determine that it was either a baby mole or a baby mouse. Because of the absence of blood I am assuming that it had been dead for awhile. I spent the next hour researching the dangers of a puppy eating road kill and vomit. Apparently this is quite normal for dogs. 

I think I am woefully unprepared to be a doggy mom.

Dog Person

Yesterday I received a text message from my prosthetist, letting me know that my foot has finally arrived. I felt a twinge of excitement but quickly tempered my enthusiasm. I have been on a "new leg" rollercoaster for years and, quite honestly, I'm not keen on another twist in the saga. At this point, I am going to maintain low expectations until I actually walk out of the office on a new leg.

My new leg will immediately put through its paces. Friend has us going outside almost every hour. Although he has certainly changed our routine, Friend is turning into an amazing family dog. Each day he plays and runs with Timmy. In the evening he curls up on my lap and sleeps. I never thought I was a dog person, yet here I am, living the dream. 

Settling in Friend

 Day two of doggy cohabitation is in the books. I am surprised by the bond that Timmy and Friend have already formed. Hamlet can't walk anywhere without having Friend prancing happily behind him. I love seeing both of them so happy.

Between work, school and puppy care, I was nonstop busy yesterday. We are trying to train Friend to go outside, which means lots of walks throughout the day. He only had one accident in the house, so I think our efforts are working. 

Adding Friend to our house has certainly contributed to the chaos, but I'm optimistic that things will calm down as everybody settles into a routine. 

Friend

Hamlet has been asking for a dog for nearly 3 years. I have delayed bringing a canine friend into the house because I knew that, despite everybody's promises, the responsibility for care would land on my shoulders. I felt like I had too many balls in the air to add a pup to the mix. 

Over the past few months, I have started to change my stance on a dog. I knew that Timmy would form an unbreakable bond with the pup, which would remain with him for a lifetime. After all, he is the perfect age for a dog. Because socialization is difficult because of the pandemic, I began to believe that a dog would help to fill the void of playmate. 

After much consideration and an enormous amount of research, I would like to introduce Friend Chenoweth. My Mom went and picked him up for me and delivered him yesterday. Timmy was initially confused about why his Nana was showing him a puppy. It wasn't until we began to drive home with the pup on his lap that he realized that he finally received his doggy.

He cried tears of joy for about 30 minutes. He spent the rest of the car ride talking to Friend about his new home in Virginia. He also sang him the ABCs and a made-up song about getting a dog, followed up by explaining that the sun was bigger than the earth. 

Friend is tiny- much smaller than we anticipated. I was under the impression that he was 10 pounds. This little guy is probably only 3 pounds after a big meal. Even the extra small harness is too big for him! A bonus of Friend being so small is that he isn't intimidating for the cats. Both Charlie and Kitty Kitty responded well to their new brother, which was a happy surprise.