For those of you who care to read my columns from time to time, you’ll remember that I got engaged to my longtime girlfriend, Morgan, back in April.
Two Sundays ago, we chose to take another leap of faith together. This time, though, another life is involved. Pressure’s on!
Duke, a 10-week old golden retriever, is the newest addition to our family. So far, he’s a pretty sleepy little guy who loves to have fun in short bursts. He’s a puppy, which means putting up with a lot of crap (sometimes literally) while potty training, crate training and all other kinds of training.
Since we welcomed Duke into our home, I’ve had one night where I got two hours of sleep and another morning spent deep cleaning a crate full of you-know-what.
There have also been very proud moments, like when Duke slept through the night (I slept on the floor by his crate) and woke me up in the morning to go potty outside. I can get used to that, minus the sleeping on the floor part.
As the days pass, he's getting better and better at learning how things are going to be. I rule with an iron fist, but that iron fist is often hiding a treat!
Right now I’m in the very exhausting stage of it, but one day it will be very rewarding. Duke is already bonded to Morgan and myself and suffers from a bit of separation anxiety as he adjusts to his new home, but once he gets past it I’m confident he’ll be a great friend for a long time.
Luckily for us, Morgan has a remote job and is able to stay at home during these important training stages. If that weren’t the case I doubt we would have made the purchase.
I grew up with a dog, and I knew I wanted my own family to have a dog one day. I fully embrace their oft-repeated “man’s best friend” moniker. They’re not quite as cheap or independent as cats, but I like walking in the door after work and seeing a happy puppy face run up to me. You might get a blink from their feline counterpart.
