Our world was shaken up in a good way this past long weekend with the arrival of our new puppy Sadie. How one little bundle of love and joy requires an immediate shift in patterns is quite remarkable. We have had 3 dogs over our 30 year marriage though it’s been 1.5 years since we said good-bye to Tess, our lovely Bouvier.  I always missed having a four-legged companion but as the family is grown and we have busy lives, it just didn’t seem like the right time.  I would often find myself browsing websites of different non-shedding breeds like Bouviers, Portuguese Water dogs and Schnauzers to see what was available. And of course I would often dream about having one.

I guess the stars were aligned last week as I saw a FB post from some good friends announcing the arrival of a little Portuguese Water dog to their family. I got excited and by the time another picture was posted 2 days later, had to call and ask more questions.  How is he doing? Where was the breeder? Were there more? Were there any females in the litter?  The answers were all positive and so I sent the breeder an e-mail inquiry on Thursday.  By Saturday morning a friend and I were on a road trip to Peterborough to Kortan Kennels.  I had convinced myself that I would pick one out and return to get her in 2 weeks as my schedule was very full and we were not prepared on the home front.

I guess you can tell where this is going and you are correct.  After some chatting back and forth en route to the breeder and a call to my son who was returning home from school in Calgary, it seemed the bases would be covered to bring little Sadie home with us that day!  Anyone who has brought a puppy home knows that it is similar to having a new baby.  A new schedule was required immediately along with getting the house ready.  That meant adding new things like a crate, food and play toys as well as baby proofing the surroundings to protect from a need to explore and chew.

All in all, she has been fabulous! Our sleep has been interrupted a bit, we haven’t caught all the signals to go outside for pee time and I have been very present to the needs of Sadie while carrying on my daily activities.  She was happy to follow me around as I prepared and planted the gardens and then was ready to crash by the time I came in to prepare supper. She is a good companion as I go out in the morning for my tai chi/meditation practise and a good snuggler as we watched The Voice last night.  Though the boys were working and away most of the weekend, she showered them with attention when they were around. It was my husband’s lap she chose to snuggle onto for the evening. Everyone is important in her new family.

So – the days ahead will require more attention to detail and planning with the family however the joy and love and laughter that comes along with that effort is definitely worth it for us.  Thanks Don and Debbie for initiating the whole process.  Thanks to my good friend who spent the day with me to choose our puppy and bring her home.  And thanks to Kristiane of Kortun Kennels for raising these beautiful, well adapted and happy puppies.  We are a dog family and with the arrival of our son back home and the new puppy – our house and my heart are full!

How did you and your family adjust to having a new puppy?  You can connect with me by email or telephone, or click the contact tab at the bottom of the screen if you are reading this post on the website. Don’t forget to join in the conversation on Facebook too!

To our health and well-being!

Karen