Amber and I got to spend some time Sunday afternoon at the Botanic Gardens (post to follow shortly) But she also got to meet Aidan, who was very well behaved and only forgot the "all four on the floor" briefly and was quick to return when reminded.
He is wonderful.
And he.is.EXHAUSTING.
Since I made the terrible decision to bring a puppy home from the Hemphill's ranch December 1990, I have foresworn puppies, lo these nearly 30 years. Aidan is currently in his older puppyhood, which saves immensely on destruction of property, but he is not out of it quite yet.
And he is SO curious.
It's like having a toddler in the house, except instead of having to proof the house by removing all breakables and chokables reachable under 2 feet, we're having to remove every SOFT thing reachable within pretty much the ceiling. And, if you didn't know, we have a ton of soft things sitting around.
Yesterday while Amber and I were out, Aidan managed to hop from the guest bed, over to the vanity, then up onto the high dresser, in an attempt to reach Sam's pet net that HANGS FROM THE CEILING.
So, the first weekend's photo and video are largely all the things that are getting discovered and then removed. It doesn't help that he's so stinkin' cute doing these mildly naughty things. And so terribly smart.
I set up a training month starting May 18. He'll have had a month to recover from the trauma of surgery and the shelter and whatever craziness came before that. I'll be back from my trip to Houston with no plans to be away again until December. And our trainer comes to the house for an hour, once a week, with homework in between, to get some commands and help on specific Aidan-behaviors.
I've also been struggling with the inevitable guilt of bringing a new dog into Evan's home without him here. It's mild and passes quickly, because there is no replacing him. Having Aidan has softened the crushing silence of and emptiness (BY MORE THAN I NEEDED, THANKS) but it has heightened how not like Evan this new pup is, and how much I took Evan's perfection for granted. How much I miss my boy.
Aidan will become another of my boys. He's well on his way. But the sense that I will forever have this hole in my heart throbs a bit harder in these early days of Aidan's presence.
Amber and I have tickets to see John Mayer this summer. We've been listening to his new album non-stop since the first wave came out in March. And there's a line in one song, about love's loss: "It takes all the love I have to say, I know it's going to be okay. It breaks my heart."
Since losing Evan, that line gets me every time.
He is wonderful.
And he.is.EXHAUSTING.
Since I made the terrible decision to bring a puppy home from the Hemphill's ranch December 1990, I have foresworn puppies, lo these nearly 30 years. Aidan is currently in his older puppyhood, which saves immensely on destruction of property, but he is not out of it quite yet.
And he is SO curious.
It's like having a toddler in the house, except instead of having to proof the house by removing all breakables and chokables reachable under 2 feet, we're having to remove every SOFT thing reachable within pretty much the ceiling. And, if you didn't know, we have a ton of soft things sitting around.
Yesterday while Amber and I were out, Aidan managed to hop from the guest bed, over to the vanity, then up onto the high dresser, in an attempt to reach Sam's pet net that HANGS FROM THE CEILING.
So, the first weekend's photo and video are largely all the things that are getting discovered and then removed. It doesn't help that he's so stinkin' cute doing these mildly naughty things. And so terribly smart.
I set up a training month starting May 18. He'll have had a month to recover from the trauma of surgery and the shelter and whatever craziness came before that. I'll be back from my trip to Houston with no plans to be away again until December. And our trainer comes to the house for an hour, once a week, with homework in between, to get some commands and help on specific Aidan-behaviors.
I've also been struggling with the inevitable guilt of bringing a new dog into Evan's home without him here. It's mild and passes quickly, because there is no replacing him. Having Aidan has softened the crushing silence of and emptiness (BY MORE THAN I NEEDED, THANKS) but it has heightened how not like Evan this new pup is, and how much I took Evan's perfection for granted. How much I miss my boy.
Aidan will become another of my boys. He's well on his way. But the sense that I will forever have this hole in my heart throbs a bit harder in these early days of Aidan's presence.
Amber and I have tickets to see John Mayer this summer. We've been listening to his new album non-stop since the first wave came out in March. And there's a line in one song, about love's loss: "It takes all the love I have to say, I know it's going to be okay. It breaks my heart."
Since losing Evan, that line gets me every time.
first to go, the blankets Bruiser like to lay on. Sorry, Bru.
With that gone, he found an old towel to replace it.
Mind you, he has a toy box of stuff that's his.
Not good enough.
It was about five minutes after playing with his own paw, it came to him the pillows and the blanket over the back of the couch were interesting. Those are now put away as well.
He's learning sit. Stay make take some time.
Leave it? A pipe dream at the moment.
But this morning we walked some puppy energy off. And I managed one good photo.
And the rest looked like the one on the right.
Into the gravity of my life,
the serious ceremonies
of polish and paper
and pen, has come
this manic animal
whose innocent disruptions
make nonsense
of my old simplicities-
as if I needed him
to prove again that after
all the careful planning,
anything can happen.
~ Linda Pastan
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