Good News

After a very long time searching for a dog, and many rejections because I live alone, I finally am getting a puppy!

Meet Willameena – Willa for short.

She’s a lab who was born on March 31st. She’s three weeks old in these pictures. Isn’t she just the sweetest?

I’m so incredibly excited to get her. Because she needs to be with her mom for 8 weeks before being adopted, I won’t be able to take her home until the end of May. While it’s hard to wait, I think it’s good too. The timing is good, because I’ll be wrapping up the last couple of weeks of school. It also gives me time to get puppy supplies that I need and it also gives me time to read about and watch videos about puppy training. I’m going to have to take her out every hour until her bladder gets stronger and to teach her that going to the bathroom outside is so exciting! I was worried about how I am going to sleep, and at first I will definitely have interrupted sleep, but I can put down puppy pads for her at night so I can get a bit more sleep. If I had a partner, we could tag team it. But I’m doing it alone.

I have to admit, that earlier this week I had a moment of fear that I wouldn’t be able to do this alone; that it would be too much and I’d be doing a disservice to my puppy. It’s a big responsibility to take on, but the truth is, I can do this. I think I’ll be able to give her a good life and so much love. I think she’ll be so good for me, keeping me grounded, getting me outside, helping me focus on something positive. A puppy is joy, and I need that right now.

Just this morning, when I was walking to the lake, I was thinking about taking her out in my canoe every weekend, how I would condition her to being around and in the canoe, and around and in the water. That I’d need to condition her to a PFD, and get her to love being in the canoe with me!

There’s so much to teach her and so much to explore with her. I can’t wait! It feels hopeful and really, it’s going to be a lot of work, but so much fun!