2:00 AM: The mattress depresses and rises at my feet.
2:01 AM: I hear scratches against my MDF door.
2:02 AM: I reluctantly flop the flannel bedding away from my groggy body.
2:03 AM: I stare tiredly out of the backdoor window at the snow-filled yard, thankful to be inside. Between the window mullions, I watch Maple, our 4-month-old puppy, frolic in the snow before she finds a proper place to squat.
2:05 AM: Maple barges into the house, snowflakes floating on her fur. She sits and accepts the towel that I cup her paws into.
2:07 AM: I worm my way into the sliver of space left in the bed, Maple’s petit frame sprawled across a larger piece of the bed.
5:35 AM: Repeat.
On November 11, 2023, our family drove to a farm west of Edmonton, Alberta and signed the papers that rendered a little Australian Shepherd puppy ours. Thus ended my short-lived freedom from night wakings.
You may ask why I, finally over the baby and toddler phases of child-rearing, decided to thrust myself back into being a self-sacrificing caretaker. With the amount I vent my puppy frustrations to my family, I’m not surprised to hear the occasional, “Why did you get a puppy again?”
I had puppy fever. That’s the short answer.
The long answer rationale went as follows. It had been four years since I delivered my second-born, so with the prospect of future human babies behind us, my heart was ready for another furry dependent. Our older furry dependent, Lady, is well into her senior years. As an Australian Shepherd, she has happily spent years being my husband’s energetic hiking companion. As she continues to age, we want to ensure that her body stays healthy and whole. Therefore, the long and intense hiking trips cannot be a part of her future. It was time to start looking into the next generation of hiking companions.
Ten-year-old Lady and four-month-old Maple sit in front of the laundry machines.
Two black, white, and tan dogs sit in front of white laundry machines. The larger of the two bears an open-mouth smile. The smaller has her head tilted slightly.
With these things in mind, my husband and I began timelining when adding a puppy to the mix would make the most sense. We had settled for the spring of 2024.
But then my desired mama dog got pregnant. With puppies due in September, I insisted that we get our puppy in November instead. And so, Maple came home in November.
Introducing a puppy to our family has stretched our patience and joy. One moment I find myself grumbling whispers of frustration to myself while I disinfect the mess on the floor, and the next I’m taking out my phone to snap a picture of my four-year-old snuggling with the mess-maker on the couch.
Our four-year-old with Maple in a frequent position of theirs.
A four-year-old boy and a small black, white, and tan puppy lie on their backs on a couch. The boy’s fingers are nestled lightly in the puppy’s mouth. The puppy has her paws wrapped around the boy’s arm.
I am no stranger to the disadvantages of having a puppy around. The messes. The disrupted schedules. The yard cleanups.
However, there are many advantages too. Personally, being forced to depart from my habitual laziness has been a very advantageous side effect of having a puppy.
Throughout this past year, I’ve paid greater attention to where I’m being lazy and where I can easily exert more energy. I have acknowledged where and how I exercise in my natural day-to-day living. I can guarantee that getting this puppy has upped my daily fitness count.
I’m getting more steps in by going up and down the stairs multiple times a night. I’m activating my glutes by squatting to clean up messes on the floor. I’m engaging my core when I bend to scoop the dog food into empty dishes—and I do this twice each time since I keep our Lady’s food in a separate container. Walking has a few more backward movements as I try to train Maple to pay attention to me and resist pulling while on leash. Simply trying to restrain the pulling is a workout! I often follow fetch with a good stretch exercise because my throwing motion is sub-par, and my shoulders are quick to let me know they need relief.
I’m not suggesting that adopting a puppy is an assured way of meeting your fitness goals, but it seems to be working out well for me.
When I feel stuck in a cycle of frustration with Maple, I try to remind myself of all the benefits that having a puppy around brings. I ask myself, “How has my life changed for the better?”
Here’s how: My kids get to grow up with a dog. My husband gets to continue his love of hiking with a loyal companion. Lady gets to taste the flavour of youth again. And I get my steps in…plus a writing buddy to keep my company at my desk.
Maple is a great writing companion.
A black, white, and tan puppy lies under a wooden desk. She is looking up at the camera positioned above.
Stephanie Morris is a transcriptionist and writer based in Alberta, Canada. She is a wife, a mom of two, and a newcomer to the career-writing world. As a fancier of history and literature, she aspires to blend the two in fiction and nonfiction pieces. To follow Stephanie’s writing adventures, find her at @words.and.smores on Instagram.
