A Pawsitive Post

Sometimes I just need to write about what is really going on in our lives:

We adopted a puppy! The puppy thing has been in the works for many moons, since we relocated to a home that actually has a yard with a fence around it. Even at the open house, we all stood in the yard and looked at each other and said, “This yard would be perfect for our dog.” I’ve had the Petfinder app on my iPhone since we closed on this property. But of course we only started looking in earnest in April. Here’s what spurred us on:

Our daughter has not been handling this whole pandemic thing very well. The loss of schoolday structure and regular socialization threw her for a loop. She went from a happy, well-adjusted, top student to daily meltdowns and violent refusal to participate in online classes. Like, we had to drag her out of the back of her closet by her ankles to get her to say “Hi” to her teachers on ZOOM.

(Interestingly enough, our son who has autism has thrived. He could really care less about physically going to school… He’s happier with online classes, which is a whole different story.)

We had many discussions about Babygirl’s ZOOM phobia with her second grade school team, and finally they just decided to communicate with her via daily emails, and we printed out her assignments on paper. She did her work with her Nana (who has the patience of a saint), and we scanned everything in to her teachers at the end of the day. She loves to read and lives for arts n’ crafts, so we just kept a steady flow of books, paint, brushes, paper, clay, beads, WHATEVER she wanted to work with constantly flowing into the house to keep her little brain active. And that’s how we got her through the school year.

But we were also looking for something positive to help ground her and distract her from the jarring loss of normalcy. We were like, therapy… or a puppy? Hmmm. That decision took about three seconds, and the search began in serious earnest.

Of course April was exactly when everyone else in the country was looking for their pandemic puppy. We applied and applied and got our hopes up again and again, but never even heard back from any shelters. They were all literally besieged with hundreds of applications a day. It was disappointing and the kids were soooo sad. (We were too.)

So late one night as I was scrolling through Petfinder AGAIN, I saw a picture of a cute fluffy puppy at Rebecca’s Paws and Claws, and I filled out yet another application. This time, I also sent a heartfelt email describing our situation, and a family photo.

It was around 8 pm on a Friday night that I got a call from an Alabama area code, which I blew off because I assumed it was a telemarketer. I squealed when I listened to the voicemail: It was Rebecca’s Paws and Claws! I jumped up and down yelping and called the lady back right away. We chatted for over an hour. The cute fluffy puppy I had seen was already adopted, but they had ANOTHER cute fluffy puppy they wanted me to consider. Here is the photo she texted to me that night:

Well, we looked at that face and melted. Of COURSE we would adopt this one.

Two weeks later, we rustled the kids out of bed at 3 a.m. and drove to a parking lot in Connecticut to meet the transport van coming up from Alabama with a whole bunch of adoptable animals. I honestly was still doubting the reality of this puppy, right up until I saw the van sliding door open and the first family in line handed a live, squirmy, yippy puppy.

Then, I was sure there would be some complication or problem, and as we waited, I was having nausea and palpitations like I haven’t had since I was in labor with Babyboy.

But our puppy was real, and here we were driving home (ten days ago)!

He was squirmy and yippy too, though he fell right asleep in the backseat. He was also stinky and VERY covered in fleas. We made a pit stop at Petco and bought flea shampoo and some flea drops. He went right into the sink when we got home, and tolerated a thorough scrubbing.

Since then, he’s been a joy. The kids named him Obi, like from Star Wars, and he does have that calm, contemplative demeanor. We were told he’s part Husky, which may be correct because he doesn’t bark, only whines occasionally, and he’s howled once. He’s mellow, and super-friendly, even with our cats!

We’ve taken him hiking at Blue Hills twice, all the way up to the observatory, which he loved. He’s a trail dog, for sure:

And he napped for HOURS afterwards:

He loves to look at himself in the mirror, and even licks his own reflection which is adorable!

And it’s only a matter of time before he has all the Patriots gear in existence.

We’re going to do a doggie DNA test to see what breed mix he is exactly– I’m betting that the Husky part is accurate, though you never do know. The vet says he’s really very healthy, which is terrific. And Babygirl is over the moon with “her” new puppy:

Looking at the photos from even just ten days ago, I can see how much he’s grown. Who knows how big he’ll be! (That doggie DNA test will be helpful for estimating adult weight…) But he’s been a positive addition to our lives,