In the middle of our chaotic life, is the sweet puppy that has given us seven years of solid stories, building a collection of paw tales with no shortage of sentiment or laughter.
She is the dog that fiercely protects our family when necessary, welcomes our guests, and loyally follows me up to our room each and every night. She was our first shared responsibility as a married couple — my girl Penny May.
She is a yellow Labrador retriever who loves the water, is great with our kids, and eats EVERYTHING — literally everything possible. She is the dog that we tell stories about to friends and family who laugh wondering what dog would possibly do that — and then everyone replies back in synchrony, “Penny.” Her mischievous behavior often mirroring that of the famous Labrador retriever who starred in the popular movie Marley and Me.
Her stories are fun, light-hearted, forgivable, and a refreshing twist on parenting — raising this animal in our home to be part of our family. Traveling on many of our family vacations with us and joining in on our story times with our kids, she really is part of our family.
It may have come as a surprise to my family members, my adoration for this sweet puppy, given I was really never keen on our pets growing up. Perhaps it was the night my sister’s hamster got out of its cage and crawled all over me while I slept one night — a story that can still invoke rippling laughter within my mother and sheer terror within me. But giving this gentle puppy a chance, she won my heart from the beginning.
It was a cold day in March when a special family member and I traveled several hours through winding roads to pick her up. Just as we got her in the car and ready to head home, a snow storm hit. Slowing my car down, we carefully made our way back through those winding roads back to my house.
I put her in the crate we had selected for, turned off the lights, and headed to bed. I imagine, terrified, she laid down there whining and pleading for company. Having recovered from sleepless nights of residency but not yet ready to be up all night again as a parent, I broke the deal my husband and I had to have her sleep downstairs and brought her upstairs in our room — just for one night. Seven years later she’s still in that spot by our door, standing at her post keeping us safe.
The first few months were full of training her to use our lawn to relieve herself instead of our carpets and keeping her from chewing our kitchen cupboards — grateful we didn’t remodel before we moved in. Her puppy stages moving from cute and cuddly to rambunctious and rowdy.
Before I knew it, I was getting several lessons in both animal behavior and patience. I learned what dogs could eat — and what they couldn’t. And I learned about how to protect her when she often couldn’t protect herself. Our house no longer became puppy proof, he had to become Penny proof. Unlike any lab I ever had growing up, this one had a spirit very unique to her.
Her stories archived into this blog for both pure entertainment and because I could never leave Penny out of our stories. She has changed how I felt about pets and she has given me many opportunities to continue loving a furry creature unconditionally, no matter what.
Perhaps the first I will share is the time my husband I took her for a walk at a festival nearby our home. It’s a popular festival every year, lilac blooms attracting people from all over. It was a little chilly so my husband grabbed his coat and we headed in to explore the festival.
After a particularly charming afternoon with our beautiful yellow Labrador pup, devouring our favorite festival foods and taking in the familiar scents of flowers that meant spring had sprung, we started to head back to our car.
On our walk back to the car, my husband had picked up our dog and was carrying — why I can’t recall. But within a few minutes, I was hysterically laughing. Perhaps the stress of a big crowd was too much and as we left, she finally found a way to relief it — all over my husband. Bright yellow poop all over his black coat — everywhere. I couldn’t help him, I was laughing too hard. Other festival attendees feeling somewhat sorry for him tried to hold in the laughter that his wife simply couldn’t — it was too funny. Fortunately, he had his coat and could take it off — a luxury I was not afforded several years later when a similar instance happened with one of my kids.
I often told people that our kids as infants were easier than a puppy, at least they wore diapers. But shortly after my second son was born, I learned diapers didn’t alway prevent that problem. We had our fair share of clean ups when diapers didn’t entirely keep everything contained but it wasn’t until about five years after that epic day in the park that my husband got his own laugh at my expense and I rolled with it — not letting one poop accident ruin our day.
Traveling to visit family across the country and out exploring an amusement park together one day, I was reminded of the day I laughed at my husband in that park as my son’s diaper leaked its own yellow substance all over my pants. Covered in it, our family divided and conquered, helping to clean my infant, getting me a new pair of pants, and occupying our two year old during the process.
Remembering that day in the park, I couldn’t be upset, I couldn’t let that spoil our day. Minutes later, I stood holding my son in a fresh pair of bright blue sweatpants that had RESCUE written down the pant leg as I stood surrounded by our loved ones for a family photo. Those pants certainly rescued our day and let us keep going, providing amusement that wasn’t included in our price of admission. I still have those pants and pull them out whenever I need a comfy, cozy pair of sweats.
Sweatpants that are a reminder of rolling with it as a parent, something we learned long before we had our own children. That epic day in the park would teach me these little inconveniences are going to happen along the way with kids but our lives are going to be made up of how we respond to it.
Are we going to rescue the day or surrender?
While I hope you enjoy reading my posts, kindly be advised that the words in this article are not medical advice and I cannot guarantee that they will work for you or your family. They are my reflections on parenting my three boys, based on my own personal background and experiences. Always reach out to your own health professionals for any questions or concerns. Please read my full disclosure at the bottom of this site for more information. Very sincerely, Mamma P.
