The Story About Our First Boy

I woke up at 4am.  There are a few friends out there, just a couple, who were probably going to bed about then.  :)

Once I was awake, I really wanted to close my eyes and go back to sleep, but my mind starting racing, and honestly, it was such a good opportunity to take a shower.  We have an upstairs bathroom right beside Poppy, and I never want to wake her up.  We also have a downstairs bathroom off of the Dining Room with a shower (weird, right??).  Anyway, the bathroom off of the Dining Room is right below her nursery, and I have an irrational fear that running the shower will wake her up too...even though, she has slept through the night again for about two weeks now. 

Yesterday was a good day (We had several special surprises that I will have to talk about another day), but hard as well...like all of them.  We have had a lot of changes to adjust to very quickly.  One of those changes is that we haven't been able to take care of our dog, Gus.  Steve adores that dog. 

Many of you know that Steve has always been a huge dog lover!  He had three dogs when I first met him.  By 2010, Eavey, Dre and Loki had all passed away.  For a couple of years, we took a little doggie break.  Dre and Loki were kind of a handful with constant ugly spats.  Apart they were sweet, but together...we had a mess! 

In 2012, Steve saw a picture of Gus online and fell in love.  The day before our first wedding anniversary, he told me that we were doing a weeklong trial with Gus, and if it went well, we would keep him.  I knew that this meant he was ours.  Although I didn't know if I was ready for another dog, Steve was so excited...so I begrudgingly told him he had gotten his anniversary present, and we adopted Gus.  He is a sweet boy and fit well into our home.

Admittedly, there are a couple of things that didn't go as well once we had a baby.  He definitely started a couple of attention-seeking behaviors.  We were determined to make it work though.  Steve has always been emphatic that once you rescue a pet, and a commitment is made...you honor it.  And besides, Steve never could have given up his sweet boy.

When my surgery was scheduled, we asked family to take Gus for a couple of weeks during my recovery.  And you may know the story from there...with everything that transpired so quickly, Steve's wonderful brother and his family ended up with Gus for months instead of weeks.  Their favor to us ended up being a huge one!  They have since adopted a puppy, and it became tough on them and Gus...so he has taken up residence with Steve's parents now.  Our consolation to this point is that he is with family that he knows and loves. 

Although, it was tough to have a skittish dog and infant in the same house, it makes me feel very guilty that we are not able to take care of him.  I have really dropped the ball on helping out with him.  Steve's family has been so lovely to take care of Gus and make sure he has good care without even asking me to lift a finger.  Although I still feel badly, it has been such a relief to have the responsibility off of my plate. 

I try not to think about it too much, because every one of these changes has such significance, and it is easy to get emotional.  Thank you, Laswells...and we love you, Gus.