We welcomed a sweet new puppy to our family on August 18, 2023. Even though the newest member of our family is tiny, she sure has filled our home with a lot of love and happiness. Our whole family is smitten with our new puppy, Dottie.
Allow me to tell you the story of how Dottie came into our lives. I've been feeling the itch to get another dog for several months now. My heart had done some healing since
we said goodbye to Jazzy. My kids were getting ready to start kindergarten. I just missed the presence of a dog in our lives. So I started looking at
Petfinder and some websites of local shelters. I also started to really talk up the idea of a dog to Archer and Lyla. They are a little leery of bigger dogs and just haven't been around a lot of dogs since Jazzy. We read library books about dogs, we stopped to pet dogs on our walks and I showed them lots of cute videos of dogs. Eventually, they started saying they wouldn't mind getting a little dog or maybe they just agreed to it so I would stop talking about it.
I happened to notice on Facebook that one of my former school colleagues Cheryl took in a litter of puppies to foster. The puppies were brought into a local shelter (
KC Pet Project) at 5 days old as strays without their momma. After spending some time with other fosters, they ended up with Cheryl. She bottle fed them day and night and shared updates on Facebook. I would be lying if I said I didn't compulsively check for updates each day. There was something about those sweet puppies that was calling me to them. Cheryl did a DNA test on one of the pups and it came back saying the puppies were a mix of small breeds. (47% Chihuahua, 20% Yorkshire Terrier, 12% Boston Terrier, 8% Dachshund, 7% Pug, 2% Miniature Pinscher, 1% Parson Russell Terrier, 1% Toy Fox Terrier, 1% Pomeranian, 1% Beagle) That particular mix of breeds results in quite possibly the cutest litter of puppies I have ever seen.
So I reached out to Cheryl and told her I was interested in the puppies and would love to meet them. Mind you, I did all this without talking to Adam or the kids. I figured there was time to get them on board and was hopeful that meeting them would be enough to convince them. I casually mentioned to Adam that a former colleague of mine was fostering some puppies and showed him their pictures. I asked if we could "just go look" at them. Adam must have recalled that when I say we should "just go look" at a dog that means we will actually be bringing that dog home with us. He looked at the pictures for a good while and wasn't really saying anything. I was worried he would try to talk me out of it. But instead he said, "Does it make sense to get two of them?" It's safe to say he was on board. We arranged to take the kids with us to meet the puppies. Their reaction would be the true test of whether or not a dog could join our family. Thankfully, the kids did great and were elated with the puppies. We learned from Cheryl that the shelter she fosters for won't allow people to adopt puppies from the same litter. There's something called Littermate Syndrome which can happen when two puppies from the same litter are raised together. Basically, they form such a close attachment to each other that they have difficulty bonding with humans or other animals. So we obviously ended up with only one puppy.
All three puppies in the litter were absolutely adorable and had their own sweet personalities. But there was just something about Dottie. I felt like she just looked me in the eyes at one point and I knew it was meant to be. She was the smallest of the litter, but wasn't afraid to explore a bit. She was incredibly sweet and playful, but also had a little spunk. Plus, she was Cheryl's favorite and I figured someone who has fostered lots of puppies before would know a thing or two about picking the perfect puppy. So we agreed to bring Dottie home with us after her spay surgery at 8 weeks old. Cheryl was kind enough to invite us to one of the puppies' vaccination appointments at the shelter and allowed us to visit Dottie while we were waiting to take her home. Even though Dottie had a rough start in her life, Cheryl certainly swooped in and gave her so much love and the absolute best care. She also made sure Dottie and the other puppies were socialized with people of all ages, along with her cats and dogs.
I was a little bit nervous to take her home when the time finally came. We would pick her up the day she had her surgery and I figured she would be sore and loopy from the anestheia. Plus, we would be taking her away from her foster mom, her siblings and the place she called home. But when the shelter staff brought her out to us and put her in my arms, I let go of all those worries. She immediately climbed up to my face and gave me all sorts of kisses. I might have had to wipe away a few happy tears! Dottie took to our family so quickly and easily. Her surgery didn't seem to even phase her at all. We tried our best to keep her calm and quiet for the required 10 days after her surgery, but she just wanted to act like a puppy! She never seemed upset or depressed even though she was around new people and a new environment. She must have been able to feel all the love pouring out of Adam, the kids and me.
We've had her now for a week and a half and she has adjusted so well! She is rocking potty training and sleeps through the night. She is eating well and already looks like she is older and bigger. She adores playing with her toys and snuggling up next to us on the couch to take naps. She has learned what "sit" means and has been practicing walking on a leash. She's just growing up so fast already!
The kids can't get enough of her! They want to spend their time before and after school playing with Dottie. They both request that Dottie wakes them up each morning, so I set Dottie on their bed to go kiss them awake. It's just about too much for my heart to handle all those giggles and squeals of delight each morning. I bring Dottie with me to pick up the kids from school so she can get used to being in the car. Archer and Lyla always greet Dottie before me after they get in the car.
I can't begin to explain how grateful I am that Dottie has joined our family. She has helped me through the kids' transition to kindergarten. She had opened up the part of my heart that closed when I had to say goodbye to Jazzy. Dottie just brings a lightness and happiness to my life that I didn't even realize I needed. She's snuggled up next to me as I type this. She's just perfection in puppy form.
Welcome to the family, Dottie!
