Puppies

They thought we were crazy.

Getting two puppies on the last day of school.

The "they" meaning those that told us outright, to our faces, that we were nuts. And those who chatted in the privacy of their own homes as to the utter lunacy of us taking on two new puppies.

For the record. We are all alive.

Puppies included.

For someone who never liked dogs until our beloved Scout, I can understand the confusion over our new doubly-fun canine adventure.

So, how's it going?

With the addition of Neville and his younger sister, Sookie, did I suddenly become the mother of 2 more children?

Nope.

To be completely honest, there have been a few times when I've felt like the only eyes and ears to their antics: I've lost a favorite pair of running socks, the corners of many of my baskets are chewed, we've had to remove the legs from our couch until they are too big to burrow themselves underneath, forcing us to lift the couches whenever we need to get them out. We've lost a few magazines, and there have been countless piddles on our carpet (which we hate anyway and plan on ripping up at some point.)

But am I in this alone?

Absolutely not.

The kids are committed to walking the pups, taking them out to the pen when it's time to go, cleaning up after them (both inside the house, and out), feeding them, crating them, disciplining them, loving on them.

Soon, they will be joining me at obedience classes for our little furry toddlers.

I can honestly say this has been a family affair.

No, not completely smooth sailing - but, why would I expect it to be? And outweighing the bite marks in my flip-flops is the reward of witnessing my children embrace their new pets and take ownership and care of them.

Do you have pets? Are your children engaged and involved in caring for your family pets?

 

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Joline Pinto Atkins is an actress who also uses the web as her world-wide stage and can also be found writing at The Cuppa Jo, Workingmother.com, and is the founder and a contributor at Daily Fast Fuel. Joline is wife to one (phew - that's good to know) and mother of two amazing children, aged 11 and 7, who are both named after authors. Addicted to fitness, she is an Independent Team Beachbody Coachand sweats out any daily angst by exercising and P90X'ing, and longs for good books, vats of coffee, and an endless supply of buffalo wings - which she will not share with you. So, please, do not ask.