My boyfriend loves dogs.
He is that guy who points out every single dog we see in public and who will intentionally change his route in order to encounter those dogs and pet all of them.
(In Vermont, where there are dogs everywhere this can get a little excessive.)
So, of course, we've been talking about getting a dog together since we started dating.
Let me just say here that I have two cats who still live in Arkansas that I miss very very much. They'll come to live with us (hopefully soon now that the campaign is well over) but the options are to either drive 17 hours in each direction or fly four flights with two cat carriers and other luggage.
That much travel isn't nice for cats under the best circumstances, and I don't want to make it worse for them by taking it on alone. So for now, they're in Arkansas where they're very loved and well taken care of.
(Related: anyone want to transport some cats with me?)
Martin and I have been perusing PetFinder for months, hoping we'd find just the right pup who we knew was meant for us.
We were looking for a dog who liked cats, kids, and were open to a dog with special needs. We particularly wanted to adopt a dog who could be trained to be a therapy animal in a setting with kids, like a children's hospital or a school.
Martin's school has a therapy dog who his kids just love, and I've seen the wonders pets can work with sick kiddos who are stuck in hospitals.
Specifically, we were hoping for a Pit Bull because they're such a wonderfully sweet breed. There are so many stereotypes and misconceptions about them, most of which are totally unfair.
Then, instead of a Pit Bull, we brought home a Maltipoo.
My pageant friend and fellow blogger, Shannon, has an incredibly adorable puppy named Noma.
Shannon posted on Facebook that she had a lead about a sweet little Maltipoo pup who was having a hard time finding a home because she only had one eye that would open.
Knowing how adorable her Noma is, I immediately sent her a message to get some more info.
Ten days later, we became puppy parents to the cutest and sweetest dog in the entire world.
Shannon has been an amazing fairy dog-mother to our little Maizie.
She drove ten hours with Noma to pick Maizie up, took care of her for a week (including taking her to the vet!), crate trained her, helped house train her, and then brought her up to Philadelphia with her husband Aaron (who had literally just gotten home from a deployment) so that she could join our little family.
Noma and Maizie had a lot of fun together. Rumor has it that the Leyko family enjoyed Maizie so much that they want her to visit for playdates very soon.
The past few days have been filled with so much puppy love...and also puppy parenting.
We are OBSESSED with Maizie.
We are also obsessed with getting her to tinkle on the puppy pad.
So far we have about a 75% success rate, and given that we've only had her for three days I'm feeling pretty good about it.
I did think we'd have longer before we were cheering over a tiny creature's poops, but here we are.
We've been taking Maizie on adventures to coffee shops, restaurants, and even to visit her cousins (both human and puppy).
She is seriously amazing.
She's friendly with everyone, she's snuggly, she's playful, she's sweet as pie, her bladder control is so great when we're adventuring, and everyone who glances at her immediately falls in love.
I did, however, become one of those pet owners who created an instagram account for their dog.
I refer to her as "the baby" far too often to be unembarrassed.
But good sweet lord, your heart would melt too if a 1.5 lb bundle of blonde fur and joy wagged her whole body when you came back to sit on the couch.
And to be fair, her insta mostly exists so that I'm not spamming people with constant dog photos on my other social media accounts. Except for my stories. Those are all puppy action.
She loves physical contact and riding in her sling or whatever article of clothing she can fit in.
We have officially become sickening.
But have you seen our dog?!?
If you want to, you can follow her over at @MaizieTheOneEyedWonderPup.
As I type this, she's currently in her little bed on the couch with us cuddling her teething toy. I literally can. not. even.
Heart eyes.
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