I went AWOL from Bootcamp during the month of June, when we welcomed a new member of our family – an 11 week old cocker spaniel that we named Finley. Our previous dog, Theo, had passed away of natural causes (at the unfortunately early age of 9) in March of 2011, and I had been unable to convince MJP that we could handle a dog again until this year.
He has been an exemplary puppy so far, however, a part of me had repressed how much work puppies can be. Added to that, we were determined to raise the perfect dog this time (Theo had generally been a nervous wreck, as a result of health issues) and ended up hiring a dog trainer and enrolling in puppy classes to ensure we stayed on track. The cost of that pound of prevention, along with the puppy price tag, put me way over budget for June.
I’ve also been lamenting to my sisters about ‘if you give an MJP a project’ (which may only make sense to you if you’ve read the ‘If you give a Mouse a Cookie’ series of books). It turns out that if you ask MJP to lay some gravel down at the top of our side yard, and also mention that the new puppy doesn’t seem to like going in the rain, you end up with a “Puppy Poo Palace”, so christened by my older sister.
Two weekends and $500 later, we have a structure that is so fancy, Finley just lays in the soft, gravel and refuses to go to the bathroom in his house.
One day, I’m hoping we get better at moderation, but in the meantime, can’t help but enjoy our new, wholly unnecessary, purchase of a puppy.
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