As a very experienced and very smug dog owner, I dreamed of a soft cuddly puppy. So sweet. Angelic and adorable. Puppy breath! As the proud mom of rescued greyhounds and a boykin spaniel all adopted ( the boykin from our local SPCA ) as adults, I felt that puppy breath was the one thing I'd been denied in dog ownership.
I'd heard over and over again how much work puppies are. I told myself "so are rescue dogs who've never lived in a home and have been mistreated and are neurotic". If anyone could raise an angelic puppy, I can, right? I mean I've had a 90 pound greyhound standing on my coffee table. I've taught them about stairs and hard floors and ceiling fans. How hard can a puppy be? A little puff of adorableness...
Well, the answer came to me in late September. We'll call it fate. My darling 20- something step daughter was in the middle of Armpit, SC at a gas station slash chicken stand. She was getting gas when a man approached her at her car and offered her a free puppy. Don't ask me how she didn't jump in her car and speed off, but she fell for the line and asked to see the puppy. He then opened the *trunk* of his car and removed a teeny tiny black puppy from it. Darling stepdaughter could not leave this teeny tiny black ball of fluff with the man who saw fit to leave her in the closed trunk of a car in high 80s Armpit, SC. Ball of fluff was clearly too young to be away from her mother, was thin, had fleas and was not in the best of shape. But, take her she did and at that point Darling stepdaughter did indeed jump in her car and flee. There was only one small issue with this rescue. Darling stepdaughter could not have a puppy at her rental.
And that's how teeny tiny black fuzzball ended up with me. And a name, Lucy. And a nickname. Lucy-fur.
When Lucy arrived, she was nothing more than an eating, pooping, sleeping machine. I lovingly called her puppy fetus. She had no personality, couldn't take more than a few steps without listing over on her side and had no teeth. Joy of joys! This was the best puppy ever! Her longest periods awake consisted of about 20 minutes.
Oh, those were the days.
Now Lucy is big. And fast, and has incredibly sharp teeth. Pooping in the dining room is her favorite past time. Though it's a close tie with latching her teeth to the bottom of my pajamas, planting her butt on the floor and letting me drag her from room to room. I have wounds on my hands, shins, ankles and even a nipple. Yes, people beware. If Lucy-fur catches you laying on the couch watching a movie and not paying just enough attention, you too could end up lactationally challenged and dang, it hurts, too! We're crating, keeping schedules, spraying with waterbottles till the cows come home. I wonder if she thinks her name is "NoLUCYLucyNO!" If she does it doesn't bother her. As she gallops around the family room, terrorizing her older packmates. As she runs gleefully out any slightly cracked door she's smiling from ear to ear.
It's a good thing that I fell in love with fetus puppy, 'cause Lucy-fur is killing me. However, that that does not kill us makes us stronger.
And I'm pretty strong.
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Just a warning for those who think a sweet little ball of fur would be a great holiday gift this year!
I'd heard over and over again how much work puppies are. I told myself "so are rescue dogs who've never lived in a home and have been mistreated and are neurotic". If anyone could raise an angelic puppy, I can, right? I mean I've had a 90 pound greyhound standing on my coffee table. I've taught them about stairs and hard floors and ceiling fans. How hard can a puppy be? A little puff of adorableness...
Well, the answer came to me in late September. We'll call it fate. My darling 20- something step daughter was in the middle of Armpit, SC at a gas station slash chicken stand. She was getting gas when a man approached her at her car and offered her a free puppy. Don't ask me how she didn't jump in her car and speed off, but she fell for the line and asked to see the puppy. He then opened the *trunk* of his car and removed a teeny tiny black puppy from it. Darling stepdaughter could not leave this teeny tiny black ball of fluff with the man who saw fit to leave her in the closed trunk of a car in high 80s Armpit, SC. Ball of fluff was clearly too young to be away from her mother, was thin, had fleas and was not in the best of shape. But, take her she did and at that point Darling stepdaughter did indeed jump in her car and flee. There was only one small issue with this rescue. Darling stepdaughter could not have a puppy at her rental.
And that's how teeny tiny black fuzzball ended up with me. And a name, Lucy. And a nickname. Lucy-fur.
When Lucy arrived, she was nothing more than an eating, pooping, sleeping machine. I lovingly called her puppy fetus. She had no personality, couldn't take more than a few steps without listing over on her side and had no teeth. Joy of joys! This was the best puppy ever! Her longest periods awake consisted of about 20 minutes.
Oh, those were the days.
Now Lucy is big. And fast, and has incredibly sharp teeth. Pooping in the dining room is her favorite past time. Though it's a close tie with latching her teeth to the bottom of my pajamas, planting her butt on the floor and letting me drag her from room to room. I have wounds on my hands, shins, ankles and even a nipple. Yes, people beware. If Lucy-fur catches you laying on the couch watching a movie and not paying just enough attention, you too could end up lactationally challenged and dang, it hurts, too! We're crating, keeping schedules, spraying with waterbottles till the cows come home. I wonder if she thinks her name is "NoLUCYLucyNO!" If she does it doesn't bother her. As she gallops around the family room, terrorizing her older packmates. As she runs gleefully out any slightly cracked door she's smiling from ear to ear.
It's a good thing that I fell in love with fetus puppy, 'cause Lucy-fur is killing me. However, that that does not kill us makes us stronger.
And I'm pretty strong.
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Just a warning for those who think a sweet little ball of fur would be a great holiday gift this year!
You just reminded me why I will NEVER have another puppy as long as I live.
I love her.
