A New Puppy

Tallulah Mae

Meet Tallulah Mae!


I missed Ethel and Ella so much and knew that I'd never replace either of them. Ethel was a temperamental dog who came to us with severe separation anxiety, so we got Ella as her therapy dog. And it worked. Oh, Eth still had issues, but she did better. They were my constant companions for more than a decade. They were even cover models for Everything But a Dog. When Eth passed, Ella was so lonely. We thought about getting another dog, but in the end decided to let Ella rule the house. And she did. The youngest minion took his naps with her curled up next to him. She got all the love and snuggles. And all the treats.


When Ella passed earlier this year, I thought I was done with dogs for a long while. I was still recuperating from the surgery on my leg. It was a good time for a break (on dogs...not lets). On a trip to Philly I happened to listen to Miranda Hart's Peggy and Me. I realized I was indeed a crazy dog lady. What's a crazy dog lady without a dog? Maybe it was time?

Still, I dithered. There are a lot of plusses to not having a dog. I could come and go as I pleased and didn't have to worry about a dog's care. Uh... It was hard to think of other plusses.

But there were so many things I missed. As I recuperated and started walking again, it was horrible walking solo. There was no yips of delight when I came home. There was no one snuggled next to me as I worked.

Tallulah, Toy-Slayer

Himself kept an eye out for dogs. And he spotted a little mixed girl whose face looks a lot like Ethel, but has that curly, wild coat that Ella had. And though we've been staying in the house or at the Cottage, we went out to pick her up. (We stayed 6 feet away from anyone and used sanitizer like crazy when we got back in the car.)

First Walk

I'll confess, I was a bit nervous. It's been a lot of years since I had a puppy in the house. I felt that same sense of worry that I had every time I was pregnant. What if I didn't love the new baby as much as its sibling(s). But every time I held my newest baby, I fell in love. No, not in the same way as I loved their sibling(s). I loved them in a totally unique way. But I loved them all as much.

Her white-tipped tail

That's how I feel about Tallulah. She doesn't replace Eth and Ella. I still miss them. But she's filled a hole in my heart. I'm going to refer to it as the crazy-dog-lady hole. And I love her in a totally unique Tallulah-way.

Play hard, sleep hard.

So, how'd her first day go? She slept until 2:30 last night. Got up, went outside, then went back to sleep until six. Not one of my new babies did that! And there was a certain baby (who knows who they are) who never slept a night through for TWO WHOLE years. Yeah. That happened. Back to Tallulah...so far, she hasn't had an accident in the house. (My kids couldn't say that either.) I'm keeping an eye out and really it's more that I'm well-trained than she is, but that's why this is a perfect time to train a puppy. She's only barked twice, and they were tiny, small yips. She came and sat on my feet when we first met, and she's pretty much following me around the house since she'd come home.

So thanks everyone who's welcome Tallulah! I'll try not to overwhelm you with puppy-tales, but I can't promise anything! LOL

I hope you all are staying in and staying safe. I hope you're all finding ways to spend the time. I've been finding things to keep the minions busy (Tallulah's going to help with that) and share them in two blog posts. 1 and 2. I've read, spring cleaned and baked. And I'm working on a new short story for you all. Something to help pass the time. More on that in the next week or so!

Holly

PS  If you're looking for a book to relax with, I have a series for you.

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The rest of the Hometown Hearts series will be coming soon.
Suddenly a Father will be out in September of 2020 and
Something Borrowed, Something Blue and Something Perfect in 2021!