San Diego So Far

I've been terrible about writing. I know this. I've had excuses but I also know that when you want to write, they don't matter. I also feel like when you want to write, you're a flurry of emotion and the words write themselves. I almost wrote a very personal post... it was the day I met Harley. The day we reserved the dog that we would pick up the next day and would change my life.

There are so many words to follow that last sentence.... what changed about getting a dog? What did I realize would change? Why am I finally writing it now? Why do I need to write out these questions that I know I need to answer?

My original post, the one written on the eve of getting a dog, was written out of fear. It wasn't the first time I'd rushed a dog into a relationship. Dogs are a lot of responsibility, and responsibility has a way of trying things. Those fears dissipated into reality and the reality was having a supportive partner that despite his reason, wanted the same little puppy that I wanted and quickly stepped into the role of amazing dog father.

Harley, our beautiful puppy, has a way of being frustrating and willful but being so smiley and loving and occasionally obedient that you can't really be mad at her. Even when you correct her or put her on time out, she looks at you with such love that you know she isn't holding it against you for training her.

Best Friends!!

You're probably starting to realize that this post isn't about how our move has gone. It's all about how much we love our puppy. I told you that writing comes from emotion. Love is one of them... but so is fear.Today we have to leave our baby. Maybe she's not a real baby but I've hear the painful yelps from when I've left her sight... and I can't imagine a weekend away from her.

When my puppy can't see me, she cries and yells and chases after any other short brunette.... she is going to spend a weekend with a stranger... that I hope she will trust enough. I still worry though. Not in the sitter - she seems amazing. I just feel that there is something behind my puppy's strong and unrelenting attachment.... I just don't want her to feel that we left her forever.

I didn't think my heart would open again so much after Rocco died, but it has and more. As fun as that first month was in San Diego, I knew I needed more. Adopting a puppy was big step, and probably one that kept us more from doing new things than naught. However, having a little puppy to walk and explore with and train... that's opened so much of a world for me.... and I'm going to miss it.... even for a couple of days.

But enough of my moping... let's talk about the fun stuff. Dan and I have noticed we get the same handful of questions about Harley all the time so I thought I'd just address those here...

What Kind of Dog is She?

We really don't know. The rescue place didn't either and told us to send pictures when she's full grown so they could see how she ended up. Her papers say Terrier/Cocker Spaniel. She clearly has zero Spaniel in her though. The only useful information we got was that her mom looked like a Jack Russell Terrier. Based on her face and soft fur, I think her dad might have been some kind of German Shepherd/ Golden Retreiver mix. That makes us think she'll be a medium to large size dog (35-45 lbs) and has a lot of growing ahead of her.

So Much Judgement

How Does She Get Along With the Cat?

...ha. The first day, she was terrified of the cat but that quickly passed. Now she thinks the cat is some weird other puppy and constantly tries to play with her like she would another dog. Sometimes I think Callie likes it... for about 3 seconds and then she starts trying to bat away the dog. Or maybe that's Callie trying to play back. I'm still holding out hope that they will be best friends once Harley works out some of the puppiness.

Is It Hard Having a Dog in an Apartment?

Yes and no. We live at the end of the hallway on the 11th floor so when puppy needs to go out, we have a ways to go before actually getting her out a door and we don't always make it. The apartment itself is great. Aside from a love of my shoes, Harley isn't very destructive so we haven't had much worry about her destroying our things. It's really easy to keep her in whichever room we are in so we can always have eyes on the puppy. She generally really loves being in the apartment too. There have been several walk attempts where she's just pulled us to go back inside. It's nice that she loves her home.

Harley... like Davidson?

No, she's named after Harley Quinn from Batman. Ironically, she perks up whenever a motorcycle or fast car drives by so I think she would disagree with us. Kids - they always do what they want despite their parents intentions.

How Is She So Stinking Cute?

I have no idea. She's painfully cute sometimes. I think she knows it too and uses her cuteness to get away with being naughty. This morning on our walk, she kept sitting or laying down when other dogs were approaching (instead of, you know, walking on our walk) and the other owners said "Wow, she's so well behaved!" moments before Harley would pop up and pounce on their dog. This girl definitely uses her cute to her advantage.

Learning How to do Burpees

That's basically how life with puppy is now. It's nice having a pet that we can go on long walks and hikes with. We take her with us to any pet friendly establishments. A few days ago, she helped us buy shoes. I really love how dog friendly San Diego is. We'd heard that a lot of stores downtown were ok with dogs, but it's still weird taking her into a store and having the associates freak out about how cute she is and wanting to pet her instead of telling us we can't have her inside. Most restaurants give her a bowl of water or a treat and other diners murmur about how cute she is when she's getting into trouble. We love our little foof ball and we are going to miss her this weekend.