Tag: learning as I go

I blinked. That’s it. I blinked—and suddenly I’m the mom of two teenage puppies who woke up and chose ✨puberty✨. I have a boy and a girl, brother and sister, besties since birth: Garrus Vakarian (handsome, clueless, thinks he’s a hero) and Qi’ra (tiny queen, main character energy). They’re not even a year old yet, and somehow I’ve gone from “look at my sweet babies” to “WHY IS MY DAUGHTER BLEEDING AND WHY IS MY SON LIKE THIS.”

Yes. Qi’ra has started her doggy period. I am freaking out. This is my first female dog, my first not-already-fixed dog, and my first time realizing that nature does not care that I am emotionally unprepared. Meanwhile Garrus—who has exactly one brain cell and it is doing parkour—has decided now is the perfect time to attempt mounting his own sister. Sir. Absolutely not. I am too young to be a doggy grandmother. I found these puppies on the street. I signed up to be a rescue mom, not to speedrun the circle of life.

The real kicker? These two have the WORST separation attachment I have ever witnessed. They are Velcro dogs. They share oxygen. They need constant visual confirmation that the other one still exists. If one goes behind a door, the other files a missing dog report immediately. And now, for safety reasons, I have to keep them apart—which feels like emotional warfare for everyone involved. Add in the fun little anxiety sprinkle that unspayed female dogs can be at risk for pyometra (a scary uterine infection), and suddenly I’m deep in vet articles learning about heat cycles, timelines, and how spaying is recommended—but not immediately, usually 8–12 weeks after the heat ends. Cool cool cool. Love that for me. I did not expect to be this knowledgeable about dog reproductive health in my current era, but here we are. Learning. Growing. Stress-Googling at 2 a.m.

All of this has taught me exactly one thing: I am learning SO much about being a dog mom, and I am deeply, profoundly grateful that I got dogs before kids. Because if this were human children? I would not survive. These puppies are already teaching me patience, responsibility, boundaries, and how to stay calm while everything in my house is screaming or bleeding or trying to climb something it absolutely should not. They are good dogs. Chaos dogs. Street-found, untrained, hormonally unhinged dogs. But good. And every day I feel lucky that I found them, even if they’re currently putting me through my parenting origin story.

Also, side note: if you can guess what I named them after, congratulations—you are my people. I know I’ve said it before, but people forget, and I love that their names are just nerdy enough to make me smile every time I yell them across the room while breaking up yet another forbidden family reunion. Anyway. Please wish me luck, send strength, snacks, and positive thoughts, and remind Garrus Vakarian that heroes respect boundaries.🐾✨