We always said once our family was complete, it would be time to get a dog. Especially having 2 boys, we HAD to get them a dog.
Growing up on a dairy farm we had working dogs, so technically I never had one as a pet. When we were just dating, Hubby bought me a tiny, little fluff ball of a kitten. I had always wanted a pet cat. There were wild cats we tamed on the farm. They were still not pets though.
Tigger grew into a huge, fluffy cat. I guess being male, he never wanted to sit on my lap so I could pat him to sleep and listen to him purr. No, he much preferred to scratch or bite me and run away. Or leap out from behind a lounge chair to attack me!
We had Tigger for 8 years before he sadly passed away, just after our oldest son turned 1.
Photo credit Patricia Woodgate, 2010
When our 10th wedding anniversary rocked around our oldest son let the ‘dog’ out of bag. “Dad’s getting you a puppy!” Thanks buddy. Kids! They get so excited and spoil surprises!
Panic set in. What’s he planning… Has he picked a puppy that I’ll like? It needs to be cute too. I couldn’t handle picking up it’s poo, or imagine myself being happy about it chewing up my shoes if it’s an ugly, slobbering mutt. Was I ready to toilet train a puppy? I had no idea about dogs. Hubby had grown up with pet dogs and knew how to train them, so that set my mind at ease. A little. To be honest, the idea of waking up during the night to the sound of a whimpering puppy wasn’t something I was looking forward to. Our youngest was three when he finally slept through the night on a regular basis!
Clearly, I wasn’t sure I was ready for the responsibility of owning a dog. I did know that we needed something exciting to happen in our family. And a puppy was just that.
We made a few trips to the RSPCA to look at dogs. Giving a dog a home seemed like a great idea. Although, the dog’s history would always be questionable. I couldn’t take that chance with my family. I had to know the dog wouldn’t turn on my boys.
In the end, Hubby chose well. He found a Beagle breeder and arranged for us to check out their 7 puppies. I needed to even out the boy/girl ratio in our house and luckily there were 3 bitches to choose from.
Choosing was hard as they were all so cute! Eventually I picked the most energetic female pup with nice markings. She couldn’t be timid with 3 boys in the house. We named her Lucky. The reason behind her name? It’s lucky she’s so cute, she can get away with almost anything!
The best thing was, she was 16 weeks old and already toilet trained! She only had an accident inside the house on the first night. And to my surprise, she slept through the night in just 3 nights.
The plan was to let her sleep in the kitchen, under the bench. We got a baby gate to block off the rest of the house. She was not to go into the lounge room onto the carpet.
After a few weeks she gave us the puppy dog eyes (what our 7 year old calls it when she stares you down) I caved and let her into the lounge room for cuddles with me while we watched TV. It was winter after all. Now she comes in every night and even cuddles up with Hubby! Secretly, I think he loves it!
After all these years I finally realised why they say ‘lap dog’ and not ‘lap cat’.
I didn’t think I was a dog person. Little did I know, that I actually am a dog person! Lucky turned out to be MY new best friend! She’s loving, playful, friendly, sure she malts but that’s a small price to pay for such a lovely dog.
She’s not perfect, she is still a cheeky pup that chews up shoes, socks, toys, toilet paper rolls and anything else you leave around the place. Three pairs of my pluggers, one of my slip on shoes, most of the pool toys including an old noodle to be exact. The blue foam from the noodle was scattered across the lawn and onto the deck and couch when I found her with the remains of it.
It’s been an education for all of us, remembering to put everything away and even closing the toilet door. To avoid moments like this…
She’s a ninja. Sneaking up and ripping things apart so quietly, you’d never even notice! Until it’s too late. She’s so quiet that you barely notice she’s around sometimes. Until she barks. It’s hilarious, she’s a little dog with a really big woof!
It’s only been 5 months and already she’s a part of the family. To be honest, I couldn’t imagine life without her!
Motherhood and life's little catastrophes 
That toilet paper photo absolutely cracks me up every time I look at it!
You’re right, lucky she’s cute!!
LikeLike
I wish I had taken a photo of the blue pool noodle she destroyed! It was a classic. I had to quickly pick it all up before school and kindy drop off last week.
LikeLike