I’ve Gotcha Sadie!

Today is Sadie’s Gotcha Day! I can’t believe it’s been two years since I brought this wonderful little pup into my home! This is the very first picture taken of the two of us, two years ago today.  And that is a day I will never forget. It was definitely full of mischief, but mostly the kind that your mind can play on you when you worry too much and over-prepare for a situation.

I was recovering from surgery and couldn’t drive, so my Aunt was nice enough to chauffeur me out to the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania. We were surprised to find that the GPS led us to an Amish farm. I was so scared as I got out of the car and walked up to the farmhouse. I had all these fears and doubts in my head. What if she hates me? What if I fall in love with her and then find out my allergy shots didn’t work and I have to give her up? What if she’s really mean and I can’t control her? Since I’d never had a dog before, the irrational fears were endless. When they handed me my squirming little puppy, I’d like to say the fears vanished as I fell in love with her, but they didn’t. I still had all the same fears, but none of them mattered as much as the little fur ball in my arms. No matter what happened, I knew I would do whatever it took to keep us both happy, healthy, and together.

On the car ride home, which should have taken about three hours, I made my Aunt stop the car every 30 minutes or so to let my new puppy out to pee. I’d read lots of books that said puppies might need to go that often, especially after napping and playing. But Sadie would not pee, and I had no idea how long you are supposed to stand there waiting for a dog to pee. I still laugh when I think about my Aunt and I arguing over what would make a good place to let the puppy out to pee and whether or not we’d waited long enough to give her a chance. My Aunt was worried Sadie would pee as soon as I brought her back in the car, but I didn’t think standing outside forever would do much good either. I think I added an extra two hours onto that ride with my unnecessary pit stops.

When we got home Sadie still wouldn’t pee, nor would she eat or drink. So of course I freaked out thinking I’ve got a defective dog or a sick dog or maybe my new dog just hates me. But then I stopped trying to force her to eat or drink and I quit putting her onto the wee wee pad every five minutes and suddenly Sadie walked over to me and licked me. She sat down next to me and put her paw on my hands and we took the photo above. It was like she was reassuring me. Everything was going to be fine from then on because we had each other.

This post is part of the Monday Mischief Pet Blog hop.