Puppy Love

You’re probably looking at these photos thinking,  “Aww… What an adorable puppy.”

I agree with you, of course – I mean look at that fluffy face!

Also, I have a few additional thoughts when I see these photos – like…

1. That these are the first and third pictures (of 18,467 and counting) I have taken so far with my sweet Fitzy.

2. Oh my goodness – I love that guy so much!

3. He really is the sweetest pup there is.

4. Those pictures were taken mere minutes before embarking on our first car ride (and first of a handful of road trips) with The Fitz – a 4 1/2 hour trip from a farm outside Austin to our then home-base of Dallas (more memorably known as, the car ride in which we learned that our new fur baby gets carsick…).

5. If you’re thinking, “But Austin to Dallas is 3 hours – not 4 1/2…,” you’re not wrong – except when the road trip gods conspire against you and bestow on you a “ruff” ride (sorry, I had to…) into puppy parenthood. Also, these road trip gods are relentless in conspiring against this same pup (… and dog mom and dad) on a later “9-hour” car ride that in actuality took beyond 13 hours, full of adventures like outrunning tornadoes in Oklahoma, … and Kansas, … and Nebraska, mixed in with hours upon hours of some very dark podcast entertainment (Dr. Death and Dirty John will do the trick) to distract my husband from the tempting call of sleep, to distract me from the helplessness of backseat cuddling what was by that time a very large pup (think of a mini goldendoodle – then triple or quadruple that… and that’s The Fitz) whose motion sickness medications weren’t working or wore off incredibly quickly, and to distract all of us from the crazy weather we were driving in and out of for hours on end.

6. The Fitz has come a long way – still excitedly nervous about car rides, but with a much stronger stomach (thank goodness)

So, this past week when we loaded up the car for this year’s Thanksgiving voyage (a mere 7-minute trek down the street this year – clearly we’ve learned our lesson), I snapped a photo of my sweet little (or actually kind of large, not-so-mini “mini” goldendoodle) Fitz, as any proud dog mom would. Because this year, among many, many, many other things, I’m so grateful for this fluffy dood.  From the first (or third) photo to the photo this holiday weekend (who am I kidding – there wasn’t just one photo this weekend, there were more like 20 87 photos… and 7 videos…), we’ve been through a whole lot of life together so far in the past 3 years – and I’m so grateful I get this little goofball in my life. 

Does he have quirks? Yes.

Does he stare at me, sighing loudly, as I try to fall asleep if he doesn’t get his proper goodnight routine (hug, praise for being a good boy, topped off with a goodnight biscuit and midnight snack)? Sure does… as he should – he has made it abundantly clear that my sleepiness should not stand in the way of The Fitz getting rewarded for another good day as a good best boy.

Does he follow me around like velcro – literally within an arm or leg’s reach at all times (including wiggling his way up onto the couch and under our now-shared blanket as I write this)? Yes – and I totally love it.

Would I do anything for him? You know it.

Have I returned a sofa because it scared him? Sure have.

Did I consider returning more furniture last week when trying to determine whether the new bed that was delivered and already assembled may be too high off the ground for him to comfortably and safely hop on and off? Mhmm.

… Was I talked down (for the time being) by my more sane other half? For now – but not before ordering a fancy bench for Fitzy to safely mount and dismount from the bed. In case you’re wondering – he’s afraid of the bench, avoids using it, instead jumping over the bench or running around it, thereby defeating its purpose – so now we are back to square one.

… And if you’re wondering if the new bed was for The Fitz or the humans it’s designed for – I’m afraid the answer is… yes, it was for The Fitz, as most things are. He also got a fence this month, so… he’s having a pretty good life right about now. 

And when I look back at those first photos with The Fitz, I don’t think of the mess of that first multi-hour car ride home with him (and the equally memorable road trip car rides that followed)…

I also don’t think of the sleepless nights of crate-training – okay, or maybe I do, but much more fondly and with a rosier hue than in those first sleep-deprived days. For what it’s worth, setting the crate up on a large rubbermaid storage bin right next to the bed so you’re literally eye to eye with the pup works wonders (… and now it all makes sense why he’s my velcro puppy).

Instead, when I look at those first few photos of my sweet little big guy, I remember our first snuggles – forever captured in that first photo. As is often the case in life, the me in the photo didn’t know what she had coming (in the best way possible).

And now, when I find myself looking through the photos documenting those first days of puppyhood I think of the:

… messy car rides,

… sleepless nights,

… speeding home from work because we see him via puppy cam tearing up the carpet when he (obviously too soon) got the privilege of freely roaming the apartment,

… soaking wet umbrella-less potty outings during rainstorms because he’s afraid of umbrellas,

… and the general chaos of those initial puppy dog days in a tiny apartment.

… And it all brings a smile to my face (and to Fitzy’s too – though to be fair he has his mouth open, tongue out, and smiling floppy ear to floppy ear pretty much 92% of his waking hours). When I look back at those first photos of me and Fitzy, I’m so excited for those two familiar faces and the puppy love that lies ahead for this beyond-extra dog mom and her sweet-as-pie fluffy cuddly golden dood, The Fitz.