Where Joy and Sorrow Meet

Today has been the long anticipated day that I....wait for it....was due to go pick up MY NEW PUPPY!  Those that know me well laugh and are still in a state of shock that I, the anti-outdoorsy, bug, tick/flea, dirt kind of girl decided to take on the task of becoming a dog owner.  It's something I've considered off and on for a year or more.  Let's face it, I get lonely living alone and was ready for a companion.  If a canine companion is all I can muster at the moment, then I decided to bring it on!  I was very picky about my choice of dog and waited for just the right one at just the right price.  Unexpectedly, I came across a girl I knew from high school selling puppies her dog had.  They are yorkie poos, half mini-poodle and half yorkie.  They are small dogs full grown, hypo-allergenic, don't shed, easy to train, etc.  Pair those traits with the awesome price she asked and I found myself a puppy!  Risking the ridicule of most friends and family, I decided that due to my fear of ticks and allergy to grass that I would paper train this new little housemate.  I've done some research on how to do it best and am determined to make it work.  Since I just got him this afternoon, I don't have much to report as far as that goes yet.

So, I woke up early this morning thinking of all I wanted to do before I brought Bentley home.  I got everything finished early and was literally on my way out the door when I look, as I do very often, out my window to check for snakes.  ***If you don't recall the posts I wrote previously about snake sightings at my house, go back and search my archives if you'd like.  Terrified isn't the word.  Petrified is more like it.  Only in winter am I able to walk in and out of my house without being scared of another sighting.  Today, I saw it.  A snake.  A big black snake.  I.FROZE. and began to sweat...a lot, as in my hair was wet.  I think I would have been less scared had I looked out to see a grizzly bear.

All I knew was that my door was bolted and there was no way in this world I was sitting foot out there.  I called my precious uncle and he arrived quickly with a hoe to attempt the cold-blooded murder.  Do I realize it was only some sort of harmless snake that is actually good to have around to kill mice, insects,etc?  Yes.  Do I care?  NO!  He got a couple good jabs at it before it slithered in a hole underground. This was not my friends, the result I was hoping for.  Our next step was to try and wash it out.  While I was still behind closed doors, my uncle stuck the water hose in one hole and turned the water on.  Nothing.  We then got some ammonia, which is said to work in bringing the little varment out.  Nothing.  Did I stop there?  No.  I went and got three more bottles of ammonia and poured the entire contents of them down the hole. Nothing.  I'm hoping (and praying) the thing died in the hole from the blunt force of the hoe, or from suffocating from the fumes.  Either way, I am now once again terrified to enter or leave my house.  Feel sorry for me.  I'm not in the least bit exaggerating.

Needless to say, the above put a large damper on the excitement I was feeling about getting the puppy.  After running and screaming down the sidewalk to my car, I proceeded to go pick up sweet Bentley.  Let me just say he is THE cutest puppy ever!  He weighs four pounds and is already completely attached to me. I can't go anywhere in the house without him following me.  He doesn't want to be anywhere other than in my lap.  He went to the vet and got his first shot today, along with some oral treatment I am supposed to start tomorrow.  

To top off my day, in typical Amy fashion, I was holding Bentley tonight and noticed a tiny little "something" on my jeans.  I looked closely and noticed it was moving.  UGHHHHHH!  Poor Bentley evidently has worms.  I hear it's very common and I'm pretty sure that's what the oral meds are for I am to begin giving him tomorrow.  But, I don't do well with stuff like this.  Between this and the snake, I'm pretty much spent.  I put sweet Bentley to bed (in which he's sleeping soundly and not crying..thank goodness) and vacuumed the entire downstairs and then got a shower.  I still feel like I need another one.  I'm not a very happy camper right now.  I plan to call the vet in the morning to get specific directions on what to do.  But, those little jokers better disappear quickly and leave my sweet Bentley alone!

How's this for a mix of emotions in a day?  I'd love advice from you dog owners about dealing with worms, tips on paper training, or suggestions in general.  At this point, I'm trying not to regret my decision.