I thought that I had thought this all through properly.  I thought I knew the responsibilities of having a dog, and the limitations that it would place on my life.  And in a way, I did.  Almost every single thing that I (we) have been going through the past week has been a thing that I identified and thought about before committing to Tessa.  But for some reason, I didn’t understand the huge impact it was going to have on my life and my relationship.

First thing on Saturday morning, I realized that my days of sleeping in were long gone.  During the week, my first meeting is now at 6am so that is when I am able to take the puppy out.  And usually, by that time, she really needs to go to the bathroom… even though we take her pretty late the night before (9-10pm).

So by 8am Saturday when I woke up, I was a little panicked.  I was exhausted and would have loved to sleep more… but I had to go make sure that Tessa hadn’t gone to the bathroom in her crate.  She hadn’t, to my relief, but was anxious to go out.  The same thing occurred on Sunday, only this time I worried about it starting at 6am in the morning and could no longer sleep.  So yes… bye bye, sleeping in.

Besides the sleeping in, which I joke about but isn’t really a big deal to me, there are a whole list of things that are overwhelming me about being a dog owner at this point.  A lot of them are hugely related to our specific situation, namely:

• A small townhouse
• No yard
• Two cats (one of which is afraid of his own shadow)
• One “parent” who works over an hour away from home
• Relatively frequent travel… including international travel to see both of our families

1. Unable to leave the house for long periods at a time – As I mentioned, S is gone from early morning until after dinnertime.  He is over an hour away, so is unable to pop in to let the dog out or to give her some attention.  Yes, I work at home… so that is probably the number one thing we have going for us right now.  Although I am almost always on the phone in a meeting, I can use my cell phone if need be and take her out in case of an emergency.  And I have breaks throughout the day to walk her.  However, we can no longer really go anywhere for the entire day without taking her.  Especially right now as a puppy… she needs to be let outside and also needs some exercise at least every few hours.  This in particular was not a brilliant time for us to get her, because two days after we did – S’s father and grandmother came to visit for 2 weeks from Switzerland.  So we have to balance taking them around, visiting and sightseeing for the day with caring for the dog.  On Saturday, we had tickets to the SF ballet at 2pm.  We left the house at noon, and had planned to go out to dinner with grandma after the ballet.  But by the time it was done, and recognizing that we still had over an hour to drive home, we knew that we couldn’t due to the puppy.Also, I have a trip to Pittsburgh coming up in a month.  I will be going and S will be staying here.  So I didn’t think we would have to worry about the dog.  However, there is no way Tessa will be ok from early morning until late evening when S comes home from work.  So either I have to take her with me to PA, or we have to get a dog sitter.  Even though there is a parent in town!
2. Constant attention – Even when we are home, it is virtually impossible to do work or even just talk together.  Literally, every single conversation we have started to have in the last week has been interrupted with one of us screaming “Tessa, NO!” or desperately chasing her upstairs (where she is not supposed to go) and dragging her back down.  S had an assignment due for school yesterday, so I was responsible for keeping her occupied and away from him while he worked.  And yes, I work from home.  But I do need to get work done.  And it’s proven virtually impossible thus far, with a 40 pound dog who thinks she is a lap dog.
3. Destructive and messy – I knew when we first got Tessa that she was a bit of a chewer.  And she is a lab, a breed known for being a bit chewey, and a puppy.  So of course, it comes with the territory.  But knowing all that doesn’t make it any easier when she manages to get my shoes down off the shoe rack and chew up my black heels, or finds a pair of socks and mutilates them, or books, or…. you get my point.  She eats everything… including dog food, anything she can pick up outside (worms, sticks, rocks, grass…) people food (so far she has enjoyed some steak, Dairy Queen chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard, and I’m pretty sure S snuck him some of his ribs last night…) and cat food.  Oh, and drinking out of the toilet?  Check.It’s not just chewing that is destructive, either.  Although she was housebroken when we got her, she has peed a few times in the house.  I’m not sure if it’s because she is still getting used to the place or what, but that makes me crazy.   That is the one thing above all else that I cannot handle.  And it’s absolutely disgusting… it smells so bad and is so gross to clean up.  I’m not sure why she is doing it.  We take her out very frequently, and she knows to stand at the door when she has to go out (and does it.)  But occasionally she just goes on the floor for seemingly no reason.  Today she did it right in front of me.  I almost had a literal meltdown.  I called the woman who was fostering her, and she was very surprised.  She said that she had never, ever had a problem with urinating in the house with Tessa.  There is a chance that she has a bladder infection, and so she can’t help it.  In order to figure out if that is the case, we have to take her outside and catch  her mid-stream with a cup, and take the urine sample to the vet for testing.  Oy, vey.
4. The cats – And in case you forgot… we already lived in a bit of a zoo with JB and Mendy.  And they are scared to death of Tessa.  Tessa is not mean at all… but she is kind of a big, clumsy spaz.  She trips over her own feet and gets soooo excited whenever she sees the cats.  She just wants a friend, just wants to play, and would never intentionally hurt them.  But of course they don’t understand that.  They just see a huge, scary monster galloping at them full-speed and they freak out.  We are keeping Tessa downstairs, so that they have the upstairs to feel safe and to be happy.  The good news is that this is bringing them closer.  Nothing brings you together like a common enemy, right?This is the scene that S came upstairs to Saturday night when I fell asleep:

   

   The bad news is they are petrified to come downstairs.  Occasionally they come downstairs when Tessa is outside, and a couple of times they have even managed to venture down when she was in her crate.  Mendy more so than JB, though.  I want to try to get him to come downstairs to get food, but I am afraid that he will literally starve to death before he is able to overcome his fear and come downstairs!

5. $$$$$$$$$$$ – Money is always an issue for me.  And a dog is just expensive.  There was the initial purchase price, then all the supplies.  A crate, food, bowls, chew toys, a bed, bitter apple, a brush, a leash, treats, carpet cleaner… the list never ends.  Now the vet bills and a possible test for a bladder infection.  Of course the cost of all the items she destroys… shoes, clothes, etc.  And eventually the carpet, I can see that one coming a mile away.

Ok.  So now that I have gotten all of my overwhelming, freaking-out factors out of the way, let me tell you about why I am incredibly happy and love my new puppy.

She is fun.

She is at my side at all times.  She is always happy to see me and happy when I come home.

She makes us more active, and makes me remember how much I love to be outdoors and how I don’t do it enough anymore.

She does the Tigger bounce.

She is going to be my running partner (and probably will outrun me) when she gets a little older.

Two words:  Unconditional love.

She is good practice for a baby.   Ha… S said I had to put that one in there

She is warm and perfect to snuggle up with.

Unlike the cats, who I love desperately, I can be with her outside or in the car.  She is lots of fun to take on hikes or just for a car ride.

She is hilarious.

She always keeps trying.  Even if she messes up and we yell at her, even if we are having a bad day or she is having a bad day.  She just keeps on being cheerful and trying her best to make us happy.

She listens and is learning.  She now knows “Sit” and “Fetch” and “No”, as well as responds to her name.

S has someone to blame any household flatulence or bad smells on.

She’s freakin’ adorable.

Thanks for listening, ya’ll.