I guess what they say is true.
When you get a puppy, it’s like having a baby.
Sleepless nights, 3 a.m. potty trips and, of course, unconditional love’even in the most stressful of times.
My husband Scott and I brought our little bundle of joy named Boomer, a miniature Australian Shepherd, home about three months ago.
He weighed a total of 2.3 pounds, and looked like a walking ball of black and white fuzz.
He was the only puppy to survive in the litter of four, so we nicknamed him ‘our little miracle.?
Like any parent anticipating a child we made numerous purchases before his arrival. We bought a crate for him to sleep in, baby gates to keep him out of certain areas, food, treats’the works.
We bought lots of toys for him, too. Funny, now it seems to only take an ice cube or empty water bottle to get him excited.
By the time he was seven- weeks-old, we signed little Boomer up for Puppy Preschool.
No, I didn’t cry on his first day.
He learned to socialize with other puppies, how to stop him from nipping at fingers and feet, how to conquer his fear of the vacuum cleaner, wheelchairs and stairs.
Being the smart dog that he is, little Boomer tackled the 17 steps into our condo the very next week with no sweat. I was a very proud mama.
Oh, how the time has flown by, though.
Now, at four-months-of-age and 5.3 pounds, Boomer sleeps a full seven hours at night, has little or no accidents on the floor and is pure joy to be around.
The nipping, however, has taken a while to subside, but being a herding dog, it’s only natural, I guess. I’ve got the punctured wounds to prove it.
But just like a parent and their newborn baby, there are some frightening moments that can occur.
Scott decided to take Boomer on his nightly walk by himself one night a couple weeks ago and ran into every pet owners worst fear.
While in a neighborhood across the busy street from ours a dog (smaller than our boy I might add) startled Boomer, to which he jolted and ran as fast as he could. My husband didn’t have a firm enough grip on the retractable leash and looked in horror as the dog ran towards the busy road.
Luckily, there weren’t any cars coming as Scott, filled to the brim with adrenaline now, tried to catch up with him.
The most unbelievable part of the whole incident was that Boomer, having never walked anywhere besides in our neighborhood, ran the whole 500 plus yards right back to our doorstep and sat patiently.
Scott and I looked at each other in amazement.
How did Boomer know the exact route home from a place he had never been before?
I know our dog is smart, he’s cute and he’s a great companion, but now I know he’s definitely ‘our little miracle.?