Dutch (part two)

March 21st, 2023 2 minutes /posts/dutch-pt2/

as we approach the first birthday of our dog Dutch, i wanted to look back on our time with him as a puppy with fondness and appreciation for what he’s taught us and the many fun things we’ve done with him.

A photograph of my dog Dutch and I at Del Mar dog beach in southern California, looking out over the ocean with a mostly clear blue sky — A photo of Dutch and I at Del Mar dog beach in southern California.

in june of last year we decided to bring a puppy home. we had been talking about getting a dog at some point, then one day i ran into an old friend at the gym who had some puppies available from their litter of goldendoodles. we really weren’t planning on getting a puppy right then, but we saw this cute little ball of fluff with his unique silver and black coat and we fell in love. after a lot of discussion over a couple days we decided to take the plunge into puppy fueled depression and sleep deprivation.

the first days were predictably up and down. one minute he was amazingly cute and adorable, and the next we were at our wits end trying to meet his needs while also satisfying the other demands in our lives.

days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. at some point i forgot to set my 1am, 3am, and 5am alarms and i woke up at 6am panicked that he probably soiled his crate. after rushing to let him out, it was clear that he had slept through the night without an accident.

it’s easy to look back on our time with Dutch with a focus on the things we couldn’t do, but the reality is that there are many things we did with Dutch that we wouldn’t have done otherwise. days that we were tired, but we still went on a fun hike in the hills. afternoon trips to Dutch Bros to get him a pup cup. cold evenings this winter when we went outside to run around in the snow together. all of these little moments brought so much joy and silliness to our lives that we may not have had otherwise.

A photograph of my dog Dutch looking patiently at the camera

A photograph of my dog Dutch leaning to the side looking at some unknown object in the distance (probably a bird)

A selfie of my dog Dutch and I on a sunny, windy day with greenery in the background with his tongue hanging out of his mouth

A photograph of my dog Dutch face down in the snow with his paw partially covering his tennis ball and his snout covered in fresh snow

it’s been a growing and a learning experience to raise a puppy (and we’re not out of the woods yet), but Dutch has been the best addition to our little family that we could have asked for and i’m grateful for him in our lives. here’s to many more wonderful and silly adventures with him hanging his tongue out the car window and wagging his tail emphatically.

March 21st, 2023 2 minutes /posts/dutch-pt2/