River Valley Veterinary Service: For The Love of My Puppy (and other little updates!)

I can't say over and over again how much my life has changed since getting Maggie. Whether good or frustrating... I love everything about my Miss Maggie Moo and how she has changed my life.

I was thrilled at work when I was (finally) granted 12-hour weekends. This means I would work every 3rd weekend instead of every other and I would have 5-6 days off before my weekend I work. After giving it 3 months I've decided I can't handle working 12 hour NIGHT shifts. It wasn't fair to Maggie to bring her somewhere else to spend the night and then expect her to sleep all day with me. It not only screws up her schedule, but mine as well. I've now decided to switch back to 8-hour evening weekends. Even though I'll be working every other weekend, I'll have some consistency with my schedule so Maggie can get into a routine. (It also means I won't always have to rely on someone to watch her or let her out! Thank goodness.)

There have been many opportunites to travel or go here or there with friends. Having Maggie has either put a kink in the plans or cancelled them all together. It's a lot harder to pack up and leave on a whim these days. I have to make sure I'm not gone for too long... which means I have to be home within a certain amount of hours or I'll feel guilty when she's in her kennel too long on my days off. I'm sure she loves her kennel, though - It's her time to get caught up on sleep!

Even though there are certain things I can't do right now, I love how much joy Maggie has brought to our lives. I love coming home to her little wiggly butt and endless kisses. It makes being home alone a little easier despite it being a lot harder to get motivated to get chores done around the house... I wouldn't trade it for anything.

My favorite thing Maggie does right now is when she sees me give Joe a hug,,, she gets very jealous!! She jumps up on the both of us until we pick her up. Then she covers us both in kisses back and forth. She loves our little family hugs! (Which reminds me - we are getting family pictures taken in September with Maggie and Graddy Photography! Can't wait!!)

Joe was home for 8 glorious days last week! Maggie and I got used to Joe being home. We have been letting her sleep on our bed with us for a little bit after she goes potty first thing in the morning. She wiggles her way up the stairs after going outside and hops over to Joe's side. She jumps up and down until I pick her up only to attack Joe with kisses until he wakes up to rub her belly. The first morning he was gone again she went upstairs with her tail wagging. I lifted her up on the bed and she sniffed everywhere for him. She finally settled down on his pillow and sighed. I snuggled up next to her and said, "I know, Maggie. I miss him, too!" It was just pitiful! She was not herself that day.

Joe and Maggie snuggling

We are still working on her peeing issues when she sees new people. I was proud of Joe for actually "researching" how to fix the submissive urination! Maybe he'll start believing the things I say are true and really do work!

Miss Maggie Moo graduated puppy school a couple of weeks ago and I am one proud Momma! She did great on her last day! We played games and all of the dogs played together - minus Maggie who wanted to visit with the people or hide under the chair! I thought it was so cute they held a graduation ceremony and even played the traditional graduation song when they called each puppy up for a diploma and a bone!

Graduation Day!

I'm hoping to enroll Maggie in the Level 1 class where she can advance her awesome "sits" and "downs" into "stays" and "heels" :-) Hopefully we can work it into our schedule!

Here are a few other random pictures of Maggie!