ENTHUSIASM!

We have a puppy. Neither Hero nor I knows diddly about training a puppy. We had never planned to have a dog this young. He and I are not learning very rapidly and neither is the puppy.

Darling Daughter 2 and I were driving home from a garden center on March 16^th when we saw a double cab pickup truck slow down, open a door, and toss something out of the vehicle. When we drove nearer, a puppy was in the middle of the highway. Thankfully, this was Sunday afternoon and traffic was light.

Well, what could we do? We (meaning I waited in the car while DD2 walked back and picked up the puppy) rescued the dog and brought her home. Her name is Bridget, so named because that's the name of an Irish saint and we found her on St. Patrick’s Day weekend. She's part Chihuahua and part Dachshund. Sounds weird, but apparently that's a trendy mix. She looks like a black Dachshund with long legs. After her initial trauma and soreness from hitting the pavement, she's recovered.

Has she ever!

But she's no saint. Bridget is enthusiastic, curious, and usually eager to please. Everything is an adventure to her. She never appears depressed or bored. 

How could she be with so many things to be chewed to pieces indoors and squirrels to chase outdoors? When she’s excited, her entire body wags, not just her tail.

Hero and I are at a loss as to her house training. She loves to rush outside (always on a leash because only one side and the back of our property have a fence) but she doesn’t really understand the purpose of her walks across the lawn. You might think walking with our other dog would clue her in. You'd be wrong. 

Apparently she believes her job is to chase squirrels. She waits until she’s back inside to poop. No point messing up the nice green grass, is there? And how can she concentrate on her bodily functions when she has to guard her people against the squirrel invasion?

All our pets are rescues. Our older dog, Webster, is such a quiet little gentleman who came to us at around age three. Our older cat, Sebastian, fit in Hero's hand when we rescued him and is now large and dignified. Max, our Manx mischief maker kitten, has settled in nicely. 

Sebastian

Bridget, on the other hand, has been quite a shock to our household and remains a challenge. If she weren’t so sweet, we’d be terribly angry because of her chewing and pooping habits. But how can we remain upset with her when she is so eager to please and be loved?

The other day I was thinking how nice it would be if we were all more like Bridget. No, not the lack of house training nor the animosity toward squirrels. I mean her good qualities.  

What if every day when we awakened we bounded out of bed, eager to see what the day held in store?

What if everything made us happy just to be alive? 

What if our enthusiasm bubbled up and made us bounce with joy?

Maybe we should all be more like puppies.

Thanks for stopping by!