The Ricky Experience – Puppy Files #1

“So I Got a New Puppy”

For so long I’ve wanted a dog of my own and for as long as I’ve had my Orange Tabby Cat (Nitro) he was my only pet. My cat-dog. Nitro played fetch, only when HE wanted to of course. He snuggles with me every night, and comes out from his place of slumber when you call his name. But let’s face the facts, Nitro is not a dog, he’s a cat. I’ve had two previous dogs in my life and I owned both before the age of 10. My first dog (Sally) was a great companion, and lived all through early childhood. Sally was a border-collie mix who nearly gave her own life for me once. As the story goes, my mother got distracted just for a split second when I crawled outside to the middle of our empty neighborhood road. Sally ran out and laid down in the street in front of me to warn any on-coming traffic before my mother came to save me. She like most dogs was extremely loyal. My second dog should’ve been named El Chapo because she was an incredible escape artist who always managed hop the fence (unless she was digging tunnels underneath and out). My parents never got another dog, which meant I never got another dog. After giving up my second dog Abby back to the shelter, I was always envious of all my friends who had fuzzy, tail-wagging, best friends. All through my teenage years, there was an empty hole in my heart for another puppy which lasted until now. It’s like asking for that one thing you want for Christmas every year and every year, never getting it.

I’ve lived in apartments most of my adult life, and deep down, I knew there wouldn’t be enough room for a dog to experience a fulfilled life. Not to mention, you have to pay extra in deposits, carpet cleaning, and some places don’t even allow dogs. For some weird reason, I also always lived on the top floor in buildings with no elevators. The struggle was real enough already without any extra flights of stairs for puppy pee runs. But the stars magically aligned in the puppy-verse when we began house shopping. It couldn’t just be a house, it had to be a house with a purrfect GIANT yard. When we finally moved in, the thought couldn’t have been more on my mind. I wanted a puppy SO bad. I talked about it, I dreamt about it, and I wined about it.

“Today was the day, I was finally going to get a puppy!”

It was the best day ever when I found out that a casual lunch date with my love would turn into a surprise trip to the pound as a Christmas present. As inpatient as I was, I’m so glad I waited to take on the new responsibilities. This was the perfect time in my life to open my heart, and my home, to a new animal.

“Dear Internet, Meet Ricky Ricardo…”