Dogs Make Life Better

I had always heard that dogs improve the quality of your life and that there have been numerous studies showing that people with pets live longer than those who don't... But I never quite grasped just how true this really is. Last September my boyfriend, Mike, and I decided after much deliberation to get a puppy. We agreed on a Puggle, a breed I had been in love with ever since discovering it a few years back.

When I went to go pick up our new puppy she was teeny tiny and so scared. I felt an overwhelming sense of love as well as "oh my God, what did I get myself into??" We took forever to decide on a name but finally decided she looked like a Zoey.

Those first few months are now a blur but what I remember most was feeling completely overwhelmed with the responsibility and then completely overwhelmed with love. She could barely be left alone, continuously tried to get into everything, chewed anything and everything, and tried to eat all objects in our apartment. She would lick and chew the floor, the walls, the couch, the fridge, our furniture... even my Tory Burch shoes (gasp!).

She was so darn cute and snuggly, though, that I could never be mad for long. Any annoyance was gone in a flash with one of her cute little head tilts. Slowly but surely, Zoey began to learn the rules. She learned not to chew on things that weren't her toys, that at bedtime she had to be quiet, where to go potty and so on...

She graduated from Puppy Kindergarten in December where she learned to sit, "get down," "watch" and "come". Now at just 1 year she can be left alone in our apartment with free reign of the place (except the bedroom... she seems to have a penchant for stealing my underwear from the hamper).

Looking back on this past year I now see how much better our lives are because of Zoey. We're outside more, walk more places, we laugh a bit more, and I, working from my home studio, always have a little companion by my side. She has truly become a member of our little family and we love her to pieces. Yes, getting a puppy is a lot of work and takes a lot of dedication if you want a well behaved dog. But the returns are endless and the benefits to your physical, mental, and emotional health are priceless.

Do you have any puppy stories you'd like to share? I would love to hear them :).


Have a wonderful weekend, my lovelies and if you have a dog, give him or her an extra smooch for me!