Small to Giant
When I first saw my little puppy’s picture I fell in love. He was 6 weeks old and weight 15 lbs. His feet were huge and he was in the back of a litter of 9. He was flown to me from Kelowna to Nanaimo and my family took me out for a celebratory dinner before his flight came in. When I got to the airport the counter person told me that my puppy had gotten in on an earlier flight but he was so cute that they had taken him out to pee and have a cuddle and he was now sleeping. They brought the crate around and I crawled on the floor to open the door. He has shoved himself to the very back of the crate. I crawled as far into the little plastic sanctuary as I could, cooing him the entire time. He crawled forward, sniffed my face and licked me. I burst into tears. He started covering my face in kisses as I pulled him out of that crate. My family waited anxiously behind me for a glimpse of my new four legged child. What a beautiful new baby I had gotten! Weeks later as I watched him sleep I wondered what trouble he was going to get into. I would lay with him for hours, rubbing his feet, touching his tail, messaging his teeth and gums. I could spend an entire day just touching him, watching him grow, and grow he did. He started to gain lbs a day. At his fastest he gain over 5 lbs an week. He went from my little 15 lb baby to a 90 lb adolescent over night. The terrible 2’s came fast and mean. He chewed all the door handles off the doors. He ate door frames, remotes and any electronic device he could get his giant teeth on. He scratched right through two queen sized mattress’ , ate a futon mattress and took possession of every single couch cushion in the house. What a beast my gentle little baby had become. I failed our first puppy class. He passed the next one. We started to work as a team. At 120 lbs and 36 ½ inches at his withers he was, and still is, my side kick. Years have passed, we’ve had a baby girl, he had surgery to remove a benign tumour in his back, yet he still remains at my side.
He turned 5 in Aug 2009. Every year that goes by he gets more grey on his face. He slows down even more. Yet no matter how lazy he is feeling that day he is always willing to follow me to the moon and back. He is my heart dog. He knows when I am sad, when I need a hug or when I need a cuddle. He makes me smile when I desperately need it. He is rough in play yet so gentle with my daughter.
For the years to come, when he is long gone and my child asks me about fond memories of my past, I know that they will include my Yoshi. The joy that he gives to me I will pass on to my daughter. She will laugh at his antics just like I have for the past 5 years.
There is no major lesson to this story. It doesn’t teach you how to raise a puppy or stop your dog from chewing. It is my way of sharing how much our pets touch our lives, how they influence our actions and teach us new things every day. Enjoy your little 4 legged baby, whether its 6 weeks or 12 years. Whether its 4 lbs or 154 lbs. Smile, laugh, pick up the stuffing and carry on.
Brianne Carson
Nanaimo, BC