Yesterday was our puppy's 1st birthday (and if you think 1 year old is no longer a puppy, just leave her in a room alone with your favorite pair of shoes and a piece of pizza for 3 minutes and you'll find out the truth). She has grown so fast. She's super cute, very cuddly, and stubborn as a mule. She knows all her commands but only obeys them when she wants to (i.e. when you have treats). In the morning when we wake up she is so excited to see us, she wags her butt so hard that sometimes she hits herself in the face with her tail. Her favorite place is my lap, or your lap, really any lap will do. 60lb. lap dog. Yup, that's her.
Last week I had lunch with a friend whose 10 year old dog had just died. A week later they came home with a new puppy. Sounded awfully familiar. Their 10 year old Chocolate Lab was loved like a child. The pain of losing him was too much to bear. I warned her ahead of time...Don't do it! Don't get a puppy!. I told her to call me in a month so I could say, "I told you so!". She's heard the stories of all the trouble our little monster has gotten into over the past 10 months. "It's a lot of work, make sure you are ready for it.", I told her. We talked about the struggles of losing our best friends. The house was too quiet, there were lots of tears, emptiness, sorrow. We don't realize just how much our pets give to us until they are gone. Needless to say, puppies are a pretty good distraction from all that. They take up a lot of time and energy. And they're pretty cute. I told her when I got our puppy, I wasn't sure I could love it as much, it felt a little like betraying the one that was no longer here. But we move on and do our best.
That evening, I was telling my daughter about our conversation. I showed her a photo of their new little fuzzy bundle of cuteness. When I told her about the part of our talk where I said it's hard to love the second dog, she looked at me like I was completely insane and matter-of-factly said, "You can love all the dogs in the world if you want." The kid is way smarter than I am. Of course we can. We don't have to pick and choose. We are not limited to loving just one dog, or just one person. Our hearts our designed to love infinitely. There is plenty to go around!
Puppies can be a handful, that's why they make them so cute. But they grow into kind, loving and loyal companions. They need us and we need them. They teach us that love is unconditional. They wag their tails with joy each time we come home, and snuggle up close with us at night to keep us warm. They make us laugh and are constantly in trouble, but it's all worth it. Every minute. So, Happy Birthday Mazzi. You ARE loved.
(And welcome to the world Max…now go eat your mom's favorite shoe!)
No comments:
Post a Comment