Moose

Since we last spoke, yes it was a long time ago now, I’ve been busy. Actually very busy. I’ve been busy because since we last spoke, we got a dog. Not just any dog, but a giant, gross, drooling, black, fun, furry mess of a dog. More to the point – a newfoundland dog.

How did this happen? Or why did this happen? Well….The kids and the hubby had been subtly dropping hints (a gross understatement) that getting a dog would be amazing and all things great. When I say hints…. The Peanut would make PowerPoint presentations telling me all about the benefits of having a dog and all the help she was going to be with the dog. The Monkey would make me random (bday, Easter, Mother’s day) cards of cute little puppies playing but also sometimes of them crying because they weren’t living with us. The hubby would say things like “I miss opening up the front door to a happy, loving, wagging tail” or “A dog would really bring some warmth into this house”. Really? Wow. Just wow… I may not have a tail but I am a ray of freakin’ loving sunshine.

Anyway…

I grew up with dogs. Specifically newfoundland dogs. So, I don’t know any better or any different. The hubby did not grow up with dogs. He had cats. Cats are very different from newfoundlands – mainly in cleanliness, but drool, size and volume also spring to mind.

But….When we got together, 22 years ago, we decided to get a dog. Remember, I know no better and he is blissfully ignorant. So lo and behold, we got a newfoundland dog. This was of course before we were married, before we had kids and even before we owned a house. Which meant we had time, money and focus. Important details that we casually forgot about when getting the new dog.

Our first dog, Diesel, came to us as a 12 week old puppy. A cute 25lbs of fluff. Since we didn’t have children, we had all the time in the world to train that dog. We had a roommate back then too. So we were 3 adults who devoted every minute to training, walking, grooming and loving Diesel. Even though newfoundlands are known to drool, Diesel, somehow barely let a drop out. He listened like a dream. Sat, lied down, came when called, even did his business, all on command. He went everywhere and did everything with us. We even flew him out to my parent’s farm, where we got married, to be our ring bearer. And just like in the movies, he lost the ring. (Comedy ensued as guests searched all over the lawn for the ring halfway through the ceremony, which was eventually found.) When the kids were born, he was the most patient, gentle giant. The kids would crawl all over him, hold onto him to walk or snuggle up on the floor next to him to watch cartoons. He never made sudden movements, never barked, jumped up, lost his cool, or whined. Not something that can be said of most who currently live under this roof. He was truly the perfect dog.

After he was gone, it took us years to mention his name without breaking down. 5 years before we even thought about getting another dog. Needless to say, the bar was set high for the next dog but in my mind, he too could be perfect. He could only succeed. How could he not? We did such a good job raising our first dog. We were great at being doggy parents. And it wasn’t even that hard. And….just like with child birth, a few key details slipped my mind when I was looking at doing this again.

Eventually the kids and hubby started to wear me down. I thought maybe a dog would be a good idea. A bit of fun and fluff around the house again. An excuse to go for walks after dinner or to cuddle up with on the couch. I thought, I’ll look into it. And while I’m at it, I’ll make it a surprise.

I reached out to Diesel’s breeder to see if she was still breeding dogs. She was but wasn’t going to have a litter for quite some time. She recommended a friend of hers who was expecting a litter soon. I reached out to her and found out that the litter had already landed. They were only 1 week old!

They were born October 7th, 2021, Thanksgiving weekend. 3 in the litter – two boys and one girl. We chatted on the phone and emailed back and forth about the possibility of us getting one of the puppies. I told her that I wanted to surprise the fam with a puppy (not even the hubby knew I was looking into this). Not sure what she made of me at the time but she was on board with us getting one of the puppies. I started to get regular updates and pictures from her such as the ones above. So tiny, cute and full of fluff. She told me that their personalities were starting to show. The little girl was the brains of the bunch (no surprise girls rule, boys drool). The two boys – one was vocal and boisterous while the other was more interested in food and cuddles. The short videos and cute photos kept coming my way. I was getting more and more excited about the reality of this. It was also getting harder and harder keeping this from the fam. (Except….A couple of you knew. Thanks for keeping the secret – you know who you are.) It was also challenging when the Monkey would slide a card he’d drawn of some crying puppy across the table to me.

Finally, the day came when it was time for the surprise to be let out of the bag. It was early December, I got everyone into the car thinking I had arranged some sort of fun xmas outing for the day. We drove out of the city towards what they thought might be for a sleigh ride or something equally xmasy. As we pulled up to the breeder’s house, the hubby saw a newfoundland dog sign. He looked at me and said – “You better not be kidding. Are we getting a puppy?” Well, he used more colourful words than that but you get the gist. The kids cried and were in sheer amazement that all their begging and pleading had worked. Not a great precedent to set I fear.

That was the first day we met our puppy.

When we met him, he was a quiet, cuddly, hungry little ball of black fur with a tiny tuft of white on his chest. He was like a little old grumpy man in a puppy body. We fell in love instantly.

The breeder said we could have him December 19th. The kids were so excited. I mean – beside themselves excited. They were getting a puppy. For real. A teeny tiny, cute little puppy.

Finally the day arrived for us to pick him up. There were tears. Lots and lots of tears from all of us. Even though the kids were around for Diesel, they were too little to really remember him. This dog would be like a first dog for them. A dog they would grow up with and remember.

The Peanut announced that his name would be Moose. (She had no idea how fitting that name would be.)

That was almost a year ago now. Since his arrival, there have been many adventures and stories given to us by Moose. And he just keeps on giving. So stay tuned for more of Moose.