Puppy Days

There are three reasons why this is one awesome Friday, and therefore blog-worthy: 1) It is sunny and 60 degrees here (a small victory and wonder to see) 2) Dereck is FINALLY coming home from the field tonight (it has been two loooonnnnggg weeks) and 3) there is a cute puppy sleeping on my lap as I sit here and type this very sentence. I am tired from the lack of sleep and playing with him in the living room, but it has been nothing short of an utter joy to have him home at last. Somebody told me that Vizslas are "velcro" dogs, but I never fully understood that until now. This dog won't let me out of his sight before he starts crying like someone ripped his little leg off. And he has to be touching me, being in the same room will simply not do. When I dry my hair in the mornings he likes to sleep on my feet- it's hard to do things with him on my feet! Hopefully he doesn't want to do this when he is full size, or I am going to be squished.

Last Sunday I woke up determined to go to church by myself, and with Dereck in the field, this is how it had to be. So, I woke up early and dragged myself around the house enough times to look presentable and then drove I-5 while sipping my thermos and praying the caffeine would kick in soon. When I got there, I sat near people we met last week, and while I felt a little lonely, it was nowhere near as bad as I worried it might be, so I chalk it up to a successful church outing.The rest of the afternoon was spent bumping around the house, ignoring how messy it was starting to look, and finding a good book to read Good books are fantastic on rainy days, and with the abundance we have here I think I could easily become a reading machine over the next couple of years, or however long the Army decides to let us stay here. The highlight of the day was watching my friends Jenny and Michelle get baptized at their coffeehouse church in Dupont. These ladies have been extra sweet at PWOC, and I was more than happy to support their public profession, and they did it outside in the cold, so I was even more impressed. I have been super blessed to meet as many friendly people here as I have so far.

Monday I spent getting ready for the puppy arrival, going to physical therapy and allergy shots, and hanging out with my friend Scarlett. If there was a job where I could hang out at coffee houses and chat with people all day than I would be good to go, like I did with Scarlett for the afternoon. I love the freedom that conversation has to go in any direction when there are comfy chairs and coffee (or chai lattes, as in my case) for the taking. We sat there for almost two hours, and finally decided that we needed to move on with our lives, and so I headed out to try a new small group for my church. This was also part of my "I don't need Dereck to do things" kick, and I saw at myself as an ambassador for the Kennedys, looking at the small group and deciding whether it was somewhere I would bring him. The group was awesome, and I am so glad that I went even though I wanted to chicken out at the last minute and run home! We all are about my age and older, some couples, some single, lots with deployed spouses, and the majority were military- something I had no idea about when walking into the situation. By the end of the night I already felt more plugged into the church, uplifted, and encouraged, and to think I almost missed out.

Tuesday my wonderful friend Scarlett and I headed out on the puppy adventure. We had to leave at 6am since it takes 4.5 hours one way, and she had a meeting on post later that evening. We began with tons of energy as we fought Seattle traffic, and noticed that the traffic got lighter and lighter as we hit the mountains. This would be because there was massive amounts of snow falling, and I had missed the memo to check for snow. Funny, I never thought snow could be an issue in May! Luckily, we never had to chain my tires and we made it through the winter wonderland in one piece. The drive was going smoothly until I noticed I must have missed a turn due to my bright idea to leave my Garmin on silent. Normally missing a turn would be no big deal since you can take the next one and make it up, but not in the mountains. I had to make a monstrous big detour that tacked on 45min to the already 9 hour drive! Scarlett and I got the giggles really bad about how long the detour was, but I really blame the giggles on delirium. Hours later we finally hit the dry, desert portion of Washington State and made it to the breeder's house. When we arrived all the little puppies were barking and trying to get our attention, and I could barely believe that I was finally going to get one of my own after months of planning and debating. Ritter was happy to see us until he realized that we were leaving the house, and then he made the most pitiful cries that made me feel like the worst person on the earth to be ripping him away from mom and littermates. Scarlett worked her charm and he finally calmed down enough to go to sleep in her lap, and I was beginning to think that maybe the drive home wouldn't be all that bad. Until we hit the mountain pass again that is; the notoriously curvy mountain pass. Little Ritter had been doing so well, and then he got this crazy look in his eye and I knew that barf was going to follow, and barf he did. I was surprised to see how much a puppy stomach could hold, and the part I have to give him props on is his choice for projection. He didn't barf on the towel on Scarlett's lap, or the floorboard, or anywhere that could be easily reached. He barfed between the seat and middle console of my compact Civic. Talk about a rough spot to reach! I started laughing so hard I could barely see as I tried to clean with little success. Ritter watched at us with this look of satisfaction that he had evened the score, and for the rest of the ride back I kept one careful eye on him. Once we got home he proceeded to explore the living room and pee all over the carpet before I could reach him. Vizsla puppies are quite agile. At this point I started to wonder in my exhausted state whether the puppy had been such a bright idea afterall. This was then compounded by the longest night of my life that I spent with one angry puppy. He barked and cried for hours straight, and I have to give his determination credit. He did not like his crate and he was going to let me know it! Finally, after a few hours of sleep, two middle of the night pee runs, and one morning that started at 5am, Ritter and I were into our first day at home. After PWOC I took him to the vet, and he was the star of the show, demanding the attention of every person in that room. He also decided that with this new fame he had the license to chew on table and chair legs with his razor teeth. I forgot that puppies have razor teeth, and so we have been working on not bitting everyday. We rounded out Wednesday night by watching TV on the couch even though I told Dereck "no dogs on the couch." He gave me the dreaded puppy eyes, and I knew I was toast, but I figured this was just reward for not peeing in the house the entire day.

Thursday morning Ritter and I went about registering him on post and applying for a dig permit to use for building the fence in the backyard. Military housing is great, but you also have to jump through tons of hoops to do anything, like own a dog, build a fence, or even plant flowers. In the afternoon my friend Lindsey came by with her dog and then we took Ritter over to her house to play and socialize. Ritter was not a fan of being around big dogs at first, but by the end of the playdate Ritter was looking less timid and more happy as he ate bark and pinecones. This puppy has one "Fiberlicious" diet as he tries to eat pinecones out of the yard every stinking time we go out. Sometimes I stop him and sometimes I tell him to go to town and have fun, which he always seems to be doing anyway. The crazy thing about chilling in the backyard is that I found out my next door neighbors have a dog, named Chandler. And Chandler looks like Ritter. Exactly like Ritter. So I asked what type of dog Chandler was, and that's right, you guessed it- a Vizsla. I have never in life heard of this breed before, and our neighbors have one too. Coincidence? I think not! And, after I got back from track practice, Ritter figured out that biting his alligator toy in one specific spot made it squeek, and proceed to do so the rest of the night, much to my chagrin. I like to say that he is lucky he's cute, much like Dereck.

Today the puppy saga has continued as Ritter somehow pulled the blanket off the top of his crate and into it while I was at spin class. They say that covering the crate calms the puppy down, but apparently Ritter said "no way Jose!" and pulled it in. I was honestly impressed that he managed it in-between the slim wire spaces, and he seemed quite proud of it also. I am super excited for Dereck to meet him tonight, and to know that there will now be two of us being attacked by velcro dog. A girl needs a break every now and then, and I feel like I am always being watched. The weekend should be nice and relaxed as Dereck needs to catch up on sleep, and I am beginning to be super drained of it also. Hopefully Ritter complies!