Ad Veritas: Puppy Love
The Richardson house got a little noisier last week with the addition of Buddy, an eight-week-old Golden Retriever puppy. He’s cute, cuddly, and loves to get into everything – just what you’d expect from a puppy.
We lost Jack, our Australian Shepherd, a little over a year ago. We brought Jack home shortly after Lena and I were married in 2011, and he was great to have around. Since his passing, we’ve been talking to the kids about getting another puppy but were looking for just the right one. I think we’ve got him in Buddy.
We have noticed, however, that there is a big difference between bringing a puppy home to a newlywed couple with no kids and bringing one home to a household of seven – with kids ranging from age 12 (Emmalyn celebrated her 12th birthday last week) all the way down to five months. Lena and I have much less discretionary attention to give the pup than what we had thirteen years ago, but we’ve also got help. Our big girls and even our little ones have been a huge help in taking Buddy outside and supervising him while he’s inside.
Of course, he does still manage to sneak away, get into the shoes, and have an accident on the carpet here and there. We’ve got an indoor crate for him to stay in when unsupervised, but he hasn’t spent much time in it just yet. He’s been sleeping in the bed with us, which has worked out well so far since he can’t get down and he’s got nowhere to “go,” so he wakes me up to take him outside. Night-time outdoor explorations have ranged from zero to three trips in one night. In those cases, I’ve been glad we didn’t get a new puppy in the winter.
He's learning a few simple tricks here and there. We’ve taught him to sit and have rewarded him with treats. Now every time we reach for the treats, he’s sitting patiently at our feet! As he gets a little older, he’ll hopefully learn to lay down, roll over, fetch things, and play frisbee. All the fun stuff dogs do.
Benjamin, our two-year-old and only son, loves Buddy from a distance. He likes to admire and talk to him from a safe space like someone else’s lap, where he can quickly pull his feet out of licking range if Buddy comes near. Sometimes he gets caught off-guard, and we find him running, screaming through the house with Buddy hot on his tail. He’ll come around. Ella loves Buddy but possibly not as much as he loves her. Buddy’s preferred bedtime spot is in Ella’s bed. She tolerates him being in there for story time, but when the lights go out, she’s ready for Buddy to go out, too.
Elizabeth and Emmalyn take turns, along with Lena and me, for the more “parental” duties of breakfast, supper, and potty time. Five-month-old Evelyn doesn’t know quite what to think of Buddy, but she does giggle when he licks her feet. We have two cats outside that aren’t fond of Buddy just yet. But they’re not fond of each other, either, and may be altogether incapable of being fond of anything. At least they let him get across the yard in one piece, which is more than they allow any other varmint that shows its face in their backyard.
We’re excited to see what the future holds for our now even larger family. It is great to have a dog again after losing Jack. A family dog provides so many opportunities to teach the importance of love and responsibility that are difficult to convey in other ways. The days and weeks ahead will be full of joy and occasional frustration. But the joy on our kids’ faces when we brought Buddy home was enough to cover the misery of at least a few midnight strolls.
