New Dog, Here We Come!

Last Updated on: 26th March 2013, 02:06 am

Well…tomorrow I get on a plane. Yup, that long awaited March 24 is tomorrow. I’m getting a ride to the airport (thank you Steve’s mom) so that means 3 a.m. I’ll be leaving. Yee ha! Guess who’s not sleeping tonight?

We’re definitely seeing signs that this pooch is going to come. I have hooks in the wall to hold tie-downs. The food bins are in the storage room ready for food. I have an appointment with a vet when I get home. A coworker commented that it looked like I was preparing for a baby’s arrival. You know what? It probably does.

It’s funny. When I got Babs, I had all these basic first time worries. Where am I going to put all her gear? Is this really what I want for the next 8 or 10 years? What will I do if I get a honker of a vet bill? When I got Trix, I had some of the same worries, since Babs didn’t have a long time with me, plus I had hangups about what I may have done wrong with Babs and how I could do better next time. But at that time I was sure that when I went back for another dog, I wouldn’t have any worries at all. I would be an old pro at this.

Hahahahahaha! I wish! Now I just have a different set of worries. The last training I went through was a month. This one is 2 weeks. Will I be able to make it? Will I accomplish all the goals I want to? How is this whole new format even possible? I keep telling myself they’ve been doing it for a while now and everything’s turning out fine, plus this is a good school that does things properly. But that doesn’t stop the worrying side of me.

Plus I’m not exactly racing around Kitchener with lots of awareness of where everything is. I’m still learning, and my learning is slowed by the fact that I’m working full time, so I don’t have lots of time to be exploring.

And another thing. I’ve never brought a brand new dog home and straight into an office. When I got Trix, I was doing some volunteering and some other stuff, but nothing like 8 hours a day in an office. My coworkers are awesome, so I’m not really worried about their reaction. I’m more worried about me doing all the right things to make sure nothing goes wrong with our very new team. I’m sure all of this will work out, but it circles my mind as I pack.

But this new pup’s arrival will be easier, since I have done bunches of preparation. I’ve scoped out a place close by where I can let the dog romp on a long leash, I know where the relieving spot will be, I have a bunch of gear, the house is pretty much dog-proofed, my body is still programmed to wake up early so the no sleeping in won’t be a shock to my system.

But I did notice that when I went to get my room and phone number, I had a moment of sadness. I went to dial, and suddenly I had to stop and acknowledge how I was feeling and wonder where this was coming from. The only thing I can figure is now I officially have moved on from Trix and have “replaced”, that’s in quotes, her with another dog, and I guess there’s still some guilt there. Plus, this was around our dog day anniversary, and I just saw her the day before since Brad was over at our place. But I was still caught off guard by the emotions that came over me.

So wish me luck…anybody wanna place bets on how many times I call this new dog Trixie? Oh crap, I already have a couple of times when talking about him/her. As I said, I’ll try to write journal entries and put them up…if I can manage to breathe. See you…when I see you!