anniversaries and birthdays

Dutch is almost one year. I've had moments where i thought we had made the biggest mistake in getting a dog. this one in particular. in hindsight, i can see how our decision was made rather rashly and probably based more on emotion rather than reason.

what i actually should be celebrating is the one year anniversary of our marriage. we had a nice day together, celebrating a day early since the 23rd was weekday. looking back i realize that we only had about 2 1/2 months of being carefree newlyweds before we made the decision to become quasi-parents. some days it was too much for me to handle. it seemed that no matter how many episodes of Cesaer Milan I watched or how many people i talked to (who always had the sure fire method for taming The Dutch), I couldn't figure out how to make him not-crazy.

I think the turning point came during the weeks of alone time i was forced to having with Dutch when i took him to doggy school alone. it was frustrating seeing him being the worst trainer at school (the evidence was the fact that the handler used him as an example almost every week) and me finishing the course. Then it was all the solo walks we had to do thanks to neil's football/lacrosse schedule in the spring. more bonding time. we began taking him to more places such as the dog park, beach, grandma's house, even a lacrosse game. and with every outing we went on came a very welcome crash out. we initially picked Dutch because we was considered the 'lazy one" of his litter. indeed our dog has no stamina. it was during those times of sleepy calmness i began to appreciate our dog and could finally see the rewards of a pet rather than just all the broken chewed up stuff around the house.

And so, as neil and i celebrate our year as a married couple, we will also be celebrating the birth of our dog. he's become part of the success of our marriage so far. the first year is supposed to be the toughest part to get through. so many changes to adjust to. this could be said for both raising a puppy and nurturing a marriage. we've survived both.