One Year Ago Today

It was a year ago today (okay, technically the 9th) that we brought the Dawg home. Not knowing anything about owning a dawg, we went straight to our local Petsmart and man, was that ever the right thing to do!

We bumped into one of their dawg trainers who spent the next 30 min or so leading us around the store helping us pick out everything we need.

Just in case any dear readers out there are considering their first dawg this Christmas, here is the basic rundown of what we ended up buying and the approximate cost.

- Adjustable Nylon Collar with name tag - $12
- Leash - $7
- Two Ceramic food / water bowls for inside - $30
- One ceramic water bowl for outside - $15
- Two stainless Steel food /water bowels for the car - $12
- Puppy Food $25
- Freeze-dried Liver Cubes (treats) - $15
- Milk Bones - $5
- Clean-up bags - $8
- Dawg Kennel & Dawg bed for sleeping at night and corralling during the day - $50
- Assorted toys - $25
- Non-detergent Puppy shampoo - $10
- "Zoom Groomer" - $8
- Tuition to 8-week puppy class - $100
- Health plan at Banfield - $139 up-front then $20 a month for one year

As the advertisement goes . . . "adding a best-friend to the family - priceless".

To be truthful, we did not buy all of these things on that very first trip to Petsmart - but in an ideal world, we would have. Without extolling the virtues of each item we bought, a few words are probably worth-while.

1) We are VERY glad that we did not start our 10 lb puppy in the habit of sleeping in our bed or getting on the furniture. In fact, he has never been on any piece of furniture. A decision we feel especially good about now that he has grown into a 90lb horse-dawg.

2) The Puppy class was worth every penny. It is more about training you than the dawg and for someone like me who didn't know anything about dawgs but was very willing to learn, it was great! We also enrolled in the 6-week intermediate class after that which was also very helpful.



3) The health plan at Banfield is wonderful. Many Petsmarts have a Banfield Veterinary franchise in their stores. They schedule all the shots etc for you and the cost of spaying / neutering is included. In addition, as long as you are on their plan, all your office visits are free which really helps a first-time dawg owner who just wants to know why this thing is red or that thing doesn't feel right.

4) I should also mention that anyone who walks into a serious pet store or vet during the month of December with a new puppy should probably brace themselves for a certain amount of sideways glances and muttered scorn about "Christmas Puppies". It's as if everyone who gets a puppy at Christmas takes a few photos around the tree and then "It's off to the glue factory for you!" Serious pet people get exorcised about that sort of thing because they care. If you experience it, best to chalk it up to good intentions and look forward to the day in March when you bump into the same people and they happily exclaim, "So you decided to keep him!"



It has been a wonderful experience owning our first dawg and we have asked ourselves many times why we didn't do it sooner. Something I imagine we will also be saying if / when we have children.

Our dawg has tied us closer to home and regulated our schedules a little more - no more just heading off to dinner after work or out of town on the weekend. Things need to slow down, be thought through a little more.

At the same time, the dawg has gotten us out of the house more - after all, a tired puppy makes for a happy puppy and even happier owners. Everywhere we take the dawg, we are compelled to explore the "great outdoors" a little more.

And I also think, in his own small way, he has made the world in general a happier place. Countless children's faces passing by have lit up at the sign of our dawg and many people have been reduced to smiles and mush at the opportunity to pet him.

The first year has been wonderful and we are looking forward to many, many more with our new best friend.