Taking a Journey to Puppyville

We've been thinking about doing it for some time. But it wasn't until a couple weeks ago that we seriously considered going out and taking ownership of a new dog.

It had been the better part of a year since my wife and I lost Joey, our mutt who passed away after a stroke. After 11 years with him around, the house went suddenly quiet, and our sense of loss didn't help matters any.

No more Joey rushing to the door when you came home. No more nights of watching television while he laid next to the sofa, waiting for you to drop an arm down and scratch his belly or stroke his back. No more playing soccer in the backyard (I could never beat him).

For sure we had been feeling like a giant hole in our lives needed to be plugged. My wife and I tried spending more time together, but the dynamic couldn't be denied: Time for a new mutt.

So the search was on. Finally we found an ad that offered up White Highland terrier/Cavalier King Charles spaniel mix puppies.

My wife called and we made an appointment to go see what they had to offer. When we showed up, they brought out two male puppies and we each held one while they gave us the background on them. Their mom was half Westie and half King Charles spaniel. The father was purebred Westie.

The two puppies looked similar, but one was borderline hyper, while the other was much more subdued. It didn't take us long to decide it would be much easier to keep up with the subdued one.

We made the transaction and headed straight to Petco, to secure the needed puppy accompaniments: The crate, the food, the toys, etc.

Finally we arrived home and got busy setting up Puppyville.

The construction of Puppyville continues, almost two weeks after the arrival of the new 8-week-old pooch, which we named Journey.

Journey has taken to his new surroundings quite well, and yes, it's been a struggle with the potty training. But he shows signs of catching on, giving us confidence there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Currently he is waking us up at least two times a night for a trip to the kitchen, where newspaper is spread out and he can alleviate himself to his heart's content (and our relief).

Journey has come a long way from the timid, scared little pup we brought home. He now prances around the house and backyard, and engages in all sorts of games, attacking all his toys on a daily basis. He's even starting to make noises that I suppose he thinks are intimidating, but are more comical at this point.

While our schedules don't jibe perfectly, we only have to have Journey in the crate from a half hour or so when one of us has to leave for work and the other gets off and travels home. Fortunately, he has been asleep when we have had to put him in more often than not, and he is getting more comfortable in the crate.

I find myself conversing with Journey much the same as I did with Joey. It's always nice to have a nonjudgmental ear to talk to, and Journey's passed all my 'best buddy' tests so far.

Now as long as he doesn't dig up the entire backyard and leave it a minefield of poop, we'll see eye to eye forever.

Be on the lookout for updates on Journey in upcoming columns. You can attempt to reach Jerry at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com or follow him on Twitter at HitchTheWriter

Jerry Hitchcock