I'm still here!

Been quite a few days since my last post, but I do have a valid excuse.

My wish about getting a dog became true much faster then I thought - on sunday a lady from a nearby town called me and said she wanted someone to take over the daily care of one of her small dogs. So the next day I went to see her, and more importantly the dog, and returned home with a dog carrier in my back seat. I am now the proud caretaker of a ... poodle. And haven't had much time for blogging.

Yes, you can stop laughing now. It may not be the most macho of breeds, but luckily she doesn't have the silly poodle haircut, just a little bit of an afro on top. And as long as she's with me she never will have one. I admit I had a few concerns at first. "Will I be able to love a poodle?" In it's defense, the breed is suitable for me; she doesn't shed a lot of hair, she doesn't require 4 hours of walking a day, she's as kind as a dog can be and she's a bit of a couch potato, which suits me fine. And lovely old ladies keep coming up to me to exclaim how cute she is.

I have to admit I was very nervous when I took her home, it all happened a bit too fast, and I didn't quite get to adjust to the idea of having an animal to take care of 24/7. And I'm still adjusting - the first few days having her around me I didn't relax at all, and nor did she I can imagine. I'm still scared that something will go wrong - that she'll get bad habits, that she'll eat too much or too little, that I don't give her enough exercise, that I someday will deceided that I'm not suited for having a dog after all. She is a pure breed, and I know she's worth a lot, which makes it even more scary. The owner pays insurance for her, so if anything happens I won't be ruined, but still there are the costs of food, grooming and cutting of her fur and one jab a year.

But I do admit that the past few days I have enjoyed taking her for a walk. Which is something I hate doing alone, and something I know both my mind and body would benefit from. And I love letting her loose and watching her go berserk on a field, running around with a happy look on her face.

Now I just have to get rid of the guilt I have for putting her in a cage for three or four hours the days I'm at work. I hate doing that, but I don't have any other options. And the majority of dogs spend many more hours in cages then my dog does.