‘Puppy love’ brings life lessons
Melea Burke
Sky, a 5-month-old Boston terrier, enjoys exploring the shore of Flathead Lake.
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Ten pounds of pure joy, clothed in black and white with oversized ears that never quite stand up. One big wiggle when she’s excited, which is more often than not. She’s a 5-month-old Boston terrier with the sweetest puppy-dog eyes you ever saw and a personality larger than life.
Her name is Sky, and she’s been mine since I picked her up in Columbia Falls as an 8-week-old squishy, wrinkly handful of fur. I cupped the tiny creature in my hands and thought of all the adventures we would share. I would train her to be the best hiking companion, swimming buddy and all-around explorer Montana ever saw.
Three months later, I realized I was wrong. Sky is training me. Yes, she’s housebroken; she’s learning manners and discipline; and we practice commands like sit, down, shake, stay and speak (her favorite) every day. But I am merely conditioning her to follow her pack leader — me — and stay out of trouble.
She’s teaching me much more.
If you take a few minutes to watch a puppy, you’ll notice that it’s interested in everything around it. Every blade of grass, every clod of dirt, and unfortunately, everything left behind by every animal that previously visited the area. But there’s something more developing than just the dog’s sense of smell. To a puppy, the world is brand spanking new. Raising one must be something like watching a child grow up, except in fast-forward. It’s hilarious, entertaining and endearing. There’s no denying that until a puppy is mistreated by a human, there’s really nothing that can zap its love for life. Of course, if I have anything to do with it, that day will never come for Sky. As it is, her zest for life turns even the most mundane task — cleaning the cat box or checking the mail — into an adventure worthy of Lassie.
Watching Sky is the best, happiest, in-your-face reminder that life is fun that I could imagine. She brings a smile to the face of everyone she greets with her overly enthusiastic wiggling and licking; her joy is contagious, just as with a happy child.
While I can’t speak to what new hurdles Sky’s teenage years (or “months,” from a human perspective), will bring, I have newfound appreciation for the puppy years. So far, Sky has stuck to destroying the toys and bones she’s provided, and except for the occasional outburst of puppy hooliganism, she’s actually quite well-behaved (I should probably pause to knock on my desk here). Before Sky, I believed that puppies, although adorable, were merely immature, rowdy, misbehaved versions of real dogs — and I wasn’t sure attempting to weather puppyhood with a Boston terrier would turn out well for me.
I’m so glad I was wrong.
