I have come to realize in life that there are dog people and other people.
Some people love dogs and can tolerate their smell, fur and obnoxious behavior in ways that other people can’t. I am a dog person. From birth, I have lived in a home with a dog at all times except for brief periods when I was deployed or stationed in a foreign country with the military. Before I had kids I had two dogs – Shay and Dixie. Shay is a typical stubborn moody Husky-mix. Dixie was a crazy-eyed goofy Australian Shepherd. They were both rescue dogs that I got at the SPCA and were best friends. They traveled across the country on road trips and moves. We went through some hard times together and were there for me when I needed quiet companionship. Only a dog person truly understands what that means.
Sadly, in 2016 after our first son was born, we soon realized that Shay did not like kids. Shay is a Husky-mix and Huskies are known to be temperamental, stubborn and anxious. When Henry was around nine months old, Shay and Dixie got into an awful flight that left Dixie completely deaf. At that point they had been house mates for seven years, but the addition of a baby to the home put these two female dogs into competition for time and affection. So I made the hard decision and decided it was time for Shay to move to a new home. She got on a plane and flew to my parent’s house in WA, which is where she resides now. Shay now has the freedom to run around the farm, with no competition from kids or dogs, and gets endless attention from Grandma.
Dixie remained a part of our family for the next six years.
She was not the same dog that she was once she lost her hearing though. She was easily frightened, didn’t like other dogs anymore (understandable), but she LOVED our kids. Her breath was the worst thing I ever smelled too! But she was gentle with the kids and would follow us around the house to make sure that her pack was always together. In March 2022, our deaf, stinky and crazy-eyed Australian Shepherd rescue dog Dixie passed away at 13 years old. Even though she was really obnoxious in her old age, there was something calming about having a dog in the house.
Dixie’s passing was life-altering for a multitude of reasons. The loss of a family pet is also a reminder of the passing of time.
13 years since Dixie came home to me…
13 years full of relationships, moves, marriage, my Dad passing and birth of my children…
13 years of time gone not to return…
At first, I did not think that my heart could handle getting another dog, but that feeling soon wore off. I was seven months pregnant with our fourth child when Dixie passed, which meant that I needed to wait until after the baby was born before we got another dog. By the end of the first month I was trying to convince my husband that we could totally handle a puppy! After lots of research and consideration, we decided that a Golden Retriever was going to be the next dog for us.
Although I have always had a dog, I have never had a puppy before!
All of my previous dogs were rescues that were at least a year old and came house-trained, potty-trained and spayed. I was able to hold off getting a puppy until our daughter was four months old, which probably wasn’t long enough. In July 2022, we brought home our first puppy as a family. Our boys named her Daisy Princess Peach aka “Daisy” in honor of their favorite girl Mario characters. She was the cutest little fluff ball of a puppy ever!
As cute as Daisy was, we quickly realized how unprepared we were with having a puppy in our house with small children.
And the puppy biting was out of this world! No amount of research could prepare us for those sharp little puppy teeth! And that my friends, is how we became a family of six with a puppy! Our family learned so much from this experience that we wanted to share our lessons learned with all of you. If you are considering adding a puppy to your family, please checkout our New Puppy Survival Guide that talks about the Top 8 things your should know about getting a puppy!
