i did a really stupid thing

Honestly, that could be the title my memoir.

I did this stupid thing on September 28, 2019.  I got a puppy.  I have no idea what I was thinking.

Well actually, I do know what I was thinking.  I was thinking how much I wanted another dog.

This was my Trixie.

Trixie in her prime

We had her for almost thirteen years.  She was the best dog you could ever have because she was the dumbest dog ever.  Seriously.  Dumb dogs make the best dogs.

She wasn't without fault.  When she was younger, she jumped on people and scratched them with her dew claw.  I'm surprised we never got sued.  She used to love to roll in fox poop.  She would bolt out of the house and run away from us.  I wasn't so much afraid of her getting hit by a car as I was afraid that she was too dumb to find her way home.

She got sprayed by skunks twice.

So when her time finally came, I knew I would get another dog at some point.  After a little over a year went by, I started looking on Petfinder, which is how I found Trixie.

However... it was not as easy this time around.  Local shelters had nothing but pit bulls, German shepherds, and lab mixes.  I have nothing against any of those, but the labs and the shepherds were too sheddy, and the pit bulls were going to be bigger than I wanted.  Trixie wound up being 60 lbs, and I needed a dog a good 20 lbs lighter this time around.  I applied to a bunch of rescue organizations, but I was denied by many of them.  I never got a reason why, but I think it's because I'm over 50.  So I began to look at breeders.

I'm all for rescuing, and I have nothing against going through a reputable breeder.  The only reason I didn't want to go through a breeder is because of this:

PUPPY

Sigh.  I'm sure you know what comes next.  

Ivy, 8 weeks old

She looks like a slug here.  I picked her up when she was 8 weeks old.  It took us all over a week to agree on a name.  And let me tell you, I was sorely unprepared for what was to come next.  

I had ZERO recollection of what having a puppy was like.  ZERO.  It was like I totally blocked out Trixie's puppyhood.  Trixie was about 3 months old when we got her, and that's makes a big difference from having an 8 week old, but I could not remember what day-to-day life with a puppy had been like.  I was pretty sure after the first week with Ivy that I had made one of the worst decisions of my life.  In fact, I posted this on my Facebook page:

So, a few observations as I close in on my first week with a puppy:

1. The last puppy I had was 14 years ago.
2. I am NOT 40 anymore.
3. This WILL probably kill me.
4. My knees will give out before this dog does.
5. Ditto for my back.
6. It has been even longer since I had toddlers because it took me over 15 minutes to figure out how to set up the baby gate.
7. I’m pretty sure Popes are elected in less time than it took to agree on a name for this dog.
8. Everything is cute when sleeping.

Well, Ivy is now five months old, and here are some current observations:

It hasn't killed me yet.
My knees have improved since that first week.
Ditto for my back.
I still have trouble with the baby gate.
She's still at her best when she's asleep.
She's too damn smart.  Smart dogs are nothing but trouble.

Ivy, 5 months old