Since our last dog was 7 years old when we got her and she had obviously gotten thru the puppy stage, Pippa has been a whole new adventure for us. Our last puppy, Millie, was 21 years ago and lived in our back yard, not in our house. So training her was not really an issue. Our sweet little Mercy probably couldn't even hear us and seldom saw us the last few years. But she also didn't chew up shoes or phone charges, didn't growl at us and until doggy dementia really set in she was very little trouble at all. While Pippa is quite the little 2 month old Pomeranian personality and I love her to pieces, I must admit saying "NO!" to her has become something all of us do on a more than regular basis and would like to get to do less of.
Puppies are a lot of work. One minute she remembers where to potty and knows she will get a treat for doing it right. The next minute she's tearing the potty pad to shreds with her sharp little puppy teeth! "Puddles" is a very good nickname for her right now. At less than two pounds, sometimes she still fancies herself a grizzly bear or a wolf. Her ferocious growl while playing tug of war with her rope, a belt or anything else she can get her teeth into would make you think she was at least 20 times her size. And I'm pretty sure she really thinks she is.
Mornings are started in a new way as well. While I normally would read Scripture, devotionals and have a little quiet time almost at a leisurely pace, I now read much more quickly so I can spend time playing with Pippa and mopping! That Pippa LOVES us like crazy in the morning! Normally I'm the first one to get to her in the mornings and am immediately covered in sweet puppy kisses and a cute little squirming body that is excited from the end of her nose to the tip of her tail. This morning, however, my husband got to her first. Next thing I knew he had brought her down the hallway to our room and gently tossed her onto our bed where she immediately pounced on me, smothering me with puppy kisses and so excited she could barely stand it! I think if she had two or three tongues to kiss us with in the morning she would be even happier!
While it seems telling Pippa "NO!" is the norm, we have a lot of fun with her, too. This weekend I discovered two of the kids helping her tap dance to "Tea for Two" on the dining table! She was very happy to participate. While playing outside one day she because very brave and proud. Then a big dog in the next yard barked. She hopped like a rabbit up to the step, wanting to get inside the yellow garage. She loves to ride on the shoulders of our youngest son and is absolutely beside herself when she sees 'dad'. And at this moment I hear one of her squeaky toys down the hallway where she is playing with one of the boys.
Pippa is a lot of work. And she will never replace Millie or Mercy or any other pet. But we also have a bunch of kids who are unique and couldn't be replaced by each other either. The kids are a blessing. Our other dogs were blessings. And even little stinkin' Pippa is a blessing. Blessings aren't always sweet and kind. Blessings aren't always pleasant. But blessings are from God and sometimes require work on our part. My little fuzzy blessing just bounced into the room. Gotta go!
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