Pawfully Ever After

Skye joined our family on July 3rd, 2015, when my husband called to say he had a surprise for us. Our four children buzzed with excitement. They assumed puppy, and I foolishly guessed cat. I’ll never live that one down. He pulled up with a massive grin on his face. On his lap was a tiny grey puppy of cuteness. I’ll never forget that Skye locked eyes with me as soon as I came up to the window. She was small, the runt of the litter, and the cutest puppy I had ever seen.

As a stay-at-home mom of four children under the age of ten, I can’t say I was ready to plunge in and train a puppy. But the first morning, I woke up with her curled up on my chest, and the seed she had planted the day earlier started to bloom. I fell irrevocably in love with her. She followed us around all day, curling up on our laps, sitting beside us, and when she was small enough, letting me carry her like a baby. I’ll always cherish those days of joy she brought to our household.

To my surprise, she trained quickly and barked rarely. On one of her first days with us, it started to rain. I took her out, hoping she would go to the bathroom before the storm rolled in. I was too late. At the first peal of thunder, she ran into a giant bush in the yard, and as the kids warned me they saw lightning, I climbed inside the bush. As the branches cut my arms, I kept calm, coaxing this adorable puppy into my arms. After went felt like forever, she came close enough for me to scoop her up and run inside. It was a trick; she doesn’t bat an eye at storms now or runs away from loud sounds.

We are an outdoors family; camping and hiking spark our joy. We love taking Skye with us, watching her prance down trails, or watching animals with her head tilted. If you ask her if she wants to get in the truck, she’ll run to the door, leaping at the knob, like, “Come on guys, it’s time to go!”

Camping with us plus Skye is nothing short of chaotic beauty. I can feel the happiness radiating off of her fur. She’s like unlimited fresh air and food falling on the ground, yes, please! She knows how to make any camping trip memorable. Her tail wags the entire trip as she trots around investigating everything and taking care of the four children.

Snow days ignite happiness for their beauty, the joy of my children playing and Skye running through the snow. As soon as we open the back door, she takes off at a breakneck pace, creating a path through the yard. It fills me with joy to see her running with happiness. We wrap a blanket around her when she comes inside because she’s our princess. We all curl up with a movie, taking turns listening to the adorable sound of Skye munching popcorn.

Since Skye joined our family, I’ve gone through some of my most challenging times. The kind of times you look back on, and you’re amazed you were strong enough to survive. I can’t imagine going through those lows without this amazing dog in my life. They say dogs don’t like hugs, but when I ask for one, she presses her body as close to me as possible, letting me loop my arms around her neck. She pushes her face up beside me when I ask for a kiss. I believe she senses my sadness and when I need extra love. For her, I’m forever grateful.

For our last anniversary trip, we took Skye with us. We stayed at a pet-friendly hotel, and Skye claimed the chair in the room, sitting and waiting for us to return each time we went without her. She would watch at the window, watching families walk by and couples with their dogs. I found it a relaxing experience except when we tried to take her by the river. Skye loves seeing children, perhaps from her always being around four of her own, and her excitement at wanting to see the kids took us a few moments to calm her down. But once calm, we were able to take her on moonlit walks and let her people watch.

Life with Skye is beautiful. She brings color to my black and white days. On days I’m feeling down, she knows how to take me to a place that brings joy. All I need to do is ask her if she wants to go on a ride or walk, and she gets so excited. How can one not light up with pure joy at this type of love? Skye is a part of our family, and she will be a part of my heart pawfully ever after.