As I sit here and write this post Gigi is clamouring all over me and typing gibberish onto the page. Since bringing our little Gigi girl home our lives have undoubtably changed in every way. 

Danny and I have always had a strong dog obsession and decided it was time we take our obsession from tagging eachother in doggie memes to our very own little bundle of joy. Since we married in 2014 we knew we wanted a dog but could never decide on what breed. We finally decided on a little brown/orange poodle – enter Gigi.

We attempted to go the more cost effective route by bringing Gigi in from Danny’s hometown of Mexico City. Gigi herself cost around $250 and another $100 for her to fly here. $350 and we would have our little bundle of joy, life would be great, and we would live happily ever after.. WRONG! Days after getting off the plane Gigi became very ill – vomiting, diahhrea, the works. After a few trips to the vet we found out she had a hookworm.. after that situation was figured out, along came another problem.. the poor thing had mange. All in all our vet bills probably ran us close to $700. On top of any health issues you may face with your new little one, be prepared to throw away another couple hundred on pooped on rugs, chewed shoes, ripped housecoats etc. This of course goes along with all the other puppy accoutrement – food, medicine, pee pads, leash, bowls, beds, toys, treats and of course having them spayed or neutered. 

Before we bought a dog, we knew what we were getting into. We knew she would be a huge amount of work and we knew it wouldn’t be easy living in an apartment – we were prepared for and accepted this. Well we really should have taken what we were prepared for and timesed it by ten. I knew I would be picking up poop, but I never knew I would be washing my sheets every other day due to Gigi not only peeing but POOPING the bed.. that’s right. She would pee or poop on every square inch of our shag area rug which I would steam clean until it came to the point where it was bye-bye gorgeous shag area rug, we hardly knew ye. Even though she would continually ‘go’ inside, that didn’t mean we could stop taking her outside – she still had to learn! We take Gigi out 4 – 5 times a day and with the walk to the elevator etc, each (successful or unsuccessful) trip outside runs us about 15 – 20 minutes. Thank god she’s now learned to hold it when on our bed and we have a rough schedule going for eating and pooping.

I’ve never had a child, but I can imagine that this is also what happens when you have one – you get weird, and so do the people around you. You become weirdly protective and self conscious over this new being you’ve brought into your life. You wonder if she really is as cute as we think she is or if her scruffy coat and extra toe (yup) make her look like a homeless mutt. You get super embarrassed and stressed out when they won’t stop barking or have an accident and people will get mad at YOU even though you’re doing the best you can at training the little one and spend all your time and energy trying to mold them into a model doggie *this is getting a little intense*. You also learn some people are super easy going, and some definitely are not, and it can be surprising to learn the ones that aren’t, and you end up taking it personally.. you DON’T like MY dog?! MY dog! But we’re best friends, how can YOU not like MY dog?! She’s like an extension of me! As weird as it sounds, it happens, and as even more weird as it sounds, you take it to heart. 

With Gigi thinking the house is her very own toilet and chew toy, we are forced to keep the floors clean (we are notoriously bad for leaving clothes on the ground). We also don’t want Gigi finding a scrap on the floor that will make her sick so not only are the floors clear, they’re vacuumed. Gigi also still uses pee pads and sometimes she misses, so not only are the floors clear and vacuumed, they’re washed. We have also learned to plan ahead and try to be as organized as we can so we can schedule her trips outside, meals, etc. I worry sometimes about the amount of time and energy it will take to raise a baby and whether or not we can do it, so I like to think of Gigi as the perfect trail run lol (does that sound bad?!)

Yes, Gigi is a TON of work, she costs us a pretty penny, and she’s caused a riff or two between friends and family. But we have never loved anything more. There is nothing like caring for another creature and have them love you endlessly for it. It may take a little more work and preparation but everything we do is better with Gigi – movie nights in, walks, trips to the Okanagan. Gigi has brought us endless joy and I don’t know how we ever lived without her – she completes our squad (for now).

xx

Tessa