Let them eat...ROCKS?

After dancing, well, gyrating the night away with my good friend the other night, I was exhausted come bedtime last night. I figured I would catch up on my sleep by getting to bed early, then sleeping in a bit if my body deemed it necessary. Well, I'm not sure if my body wanted more sleep, but Jax was sure to cut it short regardless.

If you have kids you birthed, not just fur babies, you probably know the dreaded sound of your baby in a nearby bedroom coughing all night - that cough that sounds like it began in the very depths of your baby's small body. That cough that just sounds like it is wearing the child down by the sheer force of it. Well, this morning before the sun even came up my beloved Jax was in his kennel heaving at least four times that I heard. Waking up to that sound is not pretty. Once my mind realized what it was - Jax probably puking ALL OVER his blankets and the stuffed penguin he likes to sleep with - I got up to assess the damage.

I held my breath as I peeked under the sheet covering Jax's kennel only to find that happy little face there to greet me. After coercing him to get out of what I assumed was now a like a scene from "The Exorcist", I was pleased to see just a small amount of puke in the space in front of all of Jax's blankets and his toy. Figuring it a good time to get Jax OUT before another heaving session started, I whisked him to the backyard and made sure to leave him some water while I went back to clean up after him.

What I cleaned up was most annoying to me. Thankful there was only a little regurgitated from his tiny belly, I was surely ticked that what he did get up was a couple of small ROCKS. Now, I'm the kind of fur Mommy who finds value in nutrition - even for the fur baby. So I take pride in selecting the best possible food for Jax. And I'm sure there are much cheaper ways for me to go about feeding him, but at least for his first year I hope to keep Jax on a quality holistic food.  Imagine my dismay when said puppy has been dining on, of all things, ROCKS from our backyard.

"Well why bother paying good money for food when YOU wanna eat ROCKS!?" I said, out loud, to a Jax who was not even present.

My crack of dawn lesson was this: Jax has made it abundantly clear that he MUST be watched - AT ALL TIMES - when he's inside.  Today I learned that my fur baby must be watched - AT ALL TIMES - wherever he may be, including what I assumed was some fun, safe, exploring time for him in our yard.  Thankfully the lesson didn't require a vet visit - he's eating, drinking, playing, and pooping just fine at this point. So at least this lesson didn't come at the expense of Jax requiring surgery for a blocked intestine or worse. Puppies surely require far more monitoring than babies do because, well, at least babies stay where you put them. This little puppy of ours? Not so much!

TEETHING?!?! REALLY!?!?

The last time I gave birth was in 2004. Back then I planned on all the ins and outs, ups and downs, and all-out hardships of raising another child. After all the good outweighs the bad, right? Well when we decided to become parents to a fur baby, I realized we would be potty training Jax - clearly he wouldn't be housebroken at 3 months. But when we brought him home and he was gnawing on everything from his toys to shoes (he never got very far!) to US, it occurred to me that our Jax was teething.

Teething with babies is not fun and teething with a puppy really isn't too different! I've googled all kinds of things in hopes of helping soothe his gums but more often than not websites just suggest plenty of chew toys and patience. The latter is where I struggle. I love that little guy but much like the kids' teething, I can't wait for the end of this phase.

Meanwhile I'm doing all I can to help Jax - as is the hubby. We buy every toy we hope will ease the discomfort. Jax has several different kinds of treats that help, supposedly. I froze his toy last night so this morning he could find relief through chewing. Heck, I even considered the suggestion I read online that he can take a small dose of the godsend teething tablets we used with our daughter way back when. Our most recent effort was a big donut-shaped toy with bumps on it to keep those gums from driving our puppy into a crazed frenzy. So far so good.

I guess all babies are the same. In the few weeks we have been fur parents the hubby and I are quite sure that although he walks on all fours - our fur son is not so different from the babies we birthed. We're in for quite a ride.

Mommy Guilt

We fell in love with Jax at the pet store exactly two weeks ago tomorrow, and the very fact that we purchased our newest family member from a pet store was wreaking havoc on my heart from the moment we considered bringing him home.  When we got home I looked up reasons why buying from a pet store is a bad idea - although I knew a little about puppy mills - I wasn't sure, exactly, what difference it would make in the puppies at the store. Would they be weaker, sicker, have a shortened life span? I just wasn't sure if there would be a price to pay for "supporting a puppy mill" assuming Jax did indeed come from a puppy mill. Although, knowing what I know about pet store puppies, it's pretty likely.

In case you're like me and don't know a whole lot about puppy mills, here's a little background from the ASPCA: "A puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Unlike responsible breeders, who place the utmost importance on producing the healthiest puppies possible, breeding at puppy mills is performed without consideration of genetic quality. This results in generations of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.  Some puppy mill puppies are sold to pet shops—usually through a broker, or middleman—and marketed as young as eight weeks of age. The lineage records of puppy mill dogs are often falsified. Other puppy mill puppies are sold directly to the public, including over the Internet, through newspaper ads, and at swap meets and flea markets."

Needless to say a puppy mill is despicable. But it also seems it is hard to avoid a puppy mill puppy unless you go directly through a well-established breeder. So what happens to the other puppies and dogs that weren't born into that wonderful, loving environment created by breeders who do what they do because they adore dogs?

Regardless of the arguments on either side, our baby Jax came from a pet store and I felt so much Mommy Guilt because of it. When I realized my heart was heavy for supporting such a disgusting establishment, it occurred to me that no matter what kind of baby it is - human or a fur baby - a mother has Mommy Guilt over something at some point in her child rearing days. That was me. I pushed those feelings down because, after all, Jax was OURS now and no way was I going to drive him back to the store we bought him from to return him. NO. WAY.  So meanwhile I just prayed that God would protect Jax, heal his body of anything that may not be right, and that his first veterinary appointment would go well. That appointment was three days after we brought Jax home.

Other than the fact Jax had a little bug that required prescription medication, he was a healthy little guy! I was so thankful! Just as I would for the babies I birthed, I wrote down my questions for the vet. Once I got through health questions, safety inquiries, and training options, I asked, "So just how bad is it that we bought Jax from a pet store?"

"Well, we really don't want to support puppy mills, but there's no reason to dwell on the past. You have given Jax a loving home and he seems very happy so it doesn't matter where he came from," the vet told me.

And she was right. We love Jax and will do whatever we can to ensure a long healthy life for our newest addition. No need to feel guilty about how we acquired him when in reality, he was made for our family and he has truly made this family complete.

Meet Jax!

It was last Tuesday afternoon when Babe decided we needed to go to the mall for a couple of things.  When we didn't find basketball shoes for Nas we were about to leave when I decided I wanted a pretzel. As we left the pretzel shop, Babe spotted a pet store across the hallway so of course we should stop in. The store had the exact breed we were hoping to get next spring: Havanese puppies. They had a bunch of different breeds and there were several people looking at the puffy little ones in the front window. I walked away to look at the Havanese, but Babe stayed behind, his eyes fixed on a kennel with a few of the puffy puppies that were also out front.

"Come look at this puppy!" Babe said sounding like he was a young boy all over again.  I went over to see what he was looking at. "What kind of puppy is that?" He asked the store employee.

We found out the puppy was a Bichon-Shih Tzu mix - also known as "Teddy Bears" - and he was awfully cute.

"Would you like to hold him?" the store employee asked.

"Uh no. I'm not going to fall for that," Babe replied.  With that I figured we would be leaving.  Instead we walked around the store for a few more minutes, and I found we were standing in front of that puppy again.  "Okay, can I just hold him for a minute?" Babe caved.

If you saw Babe in the little 'play room' with that adorable little bundle of fur and that teddy bear face, you would've gone to the end of the Earth to make sure he and Babe never parted. Babe and I went back and forth about whether it was a good time to get a puppy, if the breed would be a good match for our family, how awful we knew it was to buy a puppy from a pet store, how much this cute little puppy would cost us. I think it's safe to say I was set - If Babe wanted to get this puppy, we were getting the puppy because I had only seen him smile like THAT on the day our babies were born and on our wedding day.

After calling the pet store to let them know he would indeed be picking up the puppy in the window, Babe had me create a list of things we would need (gotta love Google!). Meanwhile, I had to keep the surprise quiet because the kids had NO idea we were getting a puppy.  I took them to Wendy's to get something for dinner - I was way too anxious to plan and prepare a meal after all. We got home, ate dinner, then watched some "Phineas and Ferb".  Then I heard the garage door open and told the kids to go hide! They obliged probably because we do random weird things like hide from each other in an effort to scare the bejesus out of the other.

Babe walked in and Nas was first to spot our new addition. He promptly took the puppy into his arms and held him close. Jay squealed in excitement about how cute the puppy was. Fortunately I had my video camera ready and got the entire scene recorded. Babe was all smiles, the kids were so happy you would have thought it was Christmas already! I was thrilled to have the cutest puppy on the block to call our very own and that I could witness this moment with my family.

Jax has been with us for just over a week now and he's been a fun little guy, although he is a lot of work. We're first time puppy parents - I grew up with dogs but I had very little responsibility for them so I'm pretty clueless about puppy rearing - so we're all learning but we're doing it together. Jax was named after the character on "Sons of Anarchy" primarily because we like the name: short, simple, and of course Babe loves that it - like his and our kids' - starts with a "J". I feel like a new mom all over again and I couldn't have asked for a better fur son! This blog will journal my experience as a first time puppy parent. I know Jax will keep it interesting!