Knowing What I Know Now

"Knowing what you know now, are you sorry we didn't adopt an adult dog?"

They were so LITTLE.

Hmmm. My husband is always analyzing, and likes to invite me to analyze things with him. 

Photo Credit: Chuck Bennorth

When we decided we wanted to add a dog to our household, I was pushing to adopt a fully grown dog, one that had been housebroken, crate-trained, and knew basic commands. That sounded like the perfect pet for this retired school teacher.

But what did we do? We adopted two puppies. Two wriggling, chewing, whining, peeing and pooping, roly-poly puppies.

Do I wish we had skipped the house training and the inevitable accidents? The frequent middle of the night trips outside to potty? The sharp puppy teeth that left scars? The stains and holes in the carpet? The overturned piles of dirt in our backyard?  The chewing-everything-in-sight phase, which seems to be a very long phase, indeed?

Do I miss sleeping through the night, which I only enjoyed the one month before we brought Bristol and Sami home? Do I wish we had adopted a calm, adult dog to lie at my feet while I read, write, and listen to music? Would it have been more relaxing to take walks with a dog that already knew how to walk on a leash?

Photo Credit: Chuck Bennorth

WHAT WERE WE THINKING?

My logical brain tells me we were absolute fools to take on puppies when so many deserving adult dogs were available. We didn't necessarily think things through when we brought home TWO. 

Two dog crates. Two vet bills. Two registration fees. Two hungry mouths to feed. And twice the poop to clean up.

Photo Credit: Chuck Bennorth

As Chuck likes to point out, our puppies didn't come with pre-existing bad habits from previous owners. We can proudly say that any naughty behaviors Bristol and Sami display are the things  we have not corrected properly. 

Photo Credit: Chuck Bennorth

Chuck wanted to have a puppy so we could enjoy the adorable baby stages. He didn't want to take on someone else's problems. 

Back to Chuck's question. Am I sorry we didn't adopt an adult?

Not at all. We might not have been using our brains when we brought our puppies home, but I know we were using our hearts. Our family feels complete. Bristol and Sami make me smile every day. I have never been happier. I don't know what I even did with all the free time I had before they arrived, but I do know now I want to spend every single day with them. 

We didn't just double our trouble, our workload, and our expenses, we also doubled our pleasure, and doubled our fun. I wouldn't trade these two hooligans for anything. I would do it all over again, in a heartbeat, to have Bristol and Sami in our hearts and home.