Real Life

A few days ago someone basically chastised me for not telling her sooner than I did not have a puppy for her.

My first response was to cry some tired and discouraged tears — that told me about the unfortunate state of my Little Soldiers.

I then told my family all about it when we played Zoom cards that evening, and was cheered when my sisters were indignant on my behalf.

And I get it — people want to know.

There are at least three related issues in play — especially now — for why it is hard to just give a straight answer about whether there is an available puppy.

First, I have ten plus ten puppies and a professional job and other dogs and there is a pandemic and so on. Balls get dropped and this is apparently puzzling to some folks — as if customer service should be my top priority.

Customers buy groceries, lattes, refrigerators and maybe puppies from a puppy mill. I am not a puppy mill nor Starbucks. My priority is puppy happiness.

Second, I know people are typically looking at multiple litters — when I do not hear from people I just assume interest has waned — totally fine!

The third reason it gets harder to have a straight answer at this point in the proceedings has to do with the type of homes the puppies need.

Some puppies will go into companion homes and some will go into show homes. Some puppies are well-suited to a life with a family and others are raring to go, go, go and need something different.

The kinds of homes that the puppies need is only now starting to be revealed, and will not be fully decided until they are eight weeks old.

I cannot, therefore, promise to have a companion puppy if the puppy would better served by a different kind of life and home.

Puppies are not one-size-fits-all.

You get the idea — it is complicated and I am busy. Who knew BOTH girls would get pregnant and each with TEN?! Not me in a hundred years — which is why it happened.

I know my good intentions do not always translate into desired action, and that is why I do not mind graceful nudges.

But when someone gets her knickers in a knot over not getting a puppy and/or not being told sooner — well, I say to myself, “thank you, friend, for confirming my decision not to place a puppy with you.”

A new puppy is hard work, and they need mature, understanding, patient adults who know how to extend grace. Actually, that is what we all need right now.

Please have a kind, understanding, patient and graceful day — no matter what happens.