Puppy Love :: Unexpected Growth

For years I wanted a dog, but so many close to me dismissed the idea or flat out told me it was a bad one.

“How will you travel?”, “What if you shoot a weekend-long wedding?”, “It’ll chew up your furniture”, “It’ll bark and you’ll have to move”.

It was hard to put it out of my mind. So many people have dogs, why couldn’t I? Can I do it?

I knew what I wanted - a small, young, black dog, I would call her Midnight or possibly Minuit, something healthy and trainable and manageable. A guaranteed success to keep it as simple as possible.

I managed to find online a cute, dark, maltipoo up in Rockville, MD. Great - hypoallergenic, small size. But that one was already impatiently awaiting her forever home. Her roommate, a tiny, light brown yorkipoo, was suggested to me as an alternative, which I almost immediately wrote off since I was under the impression that yorkie’s are noisy, but decided to take a look anyway.

I anxiously waited in a little cubby area for the puppy to be brought in. And my heart melted.

She was timid at first, creeping around the perimeter and shying away from toys, until she discovered the (apparently) delightful rings I was wearing.

I think I was overwhelmed with cuteness because I agreed on the spot to take home a special needs puppy, the near opposite of what I had planned for and envisioned for so long. I didn’t care how difficult it might be to help her live, I only knew I wanted to care for her.

We met just in time for Thanksgiving 2020. And Blossom is one of the things in life that I’m most thankful for.

Blossom was underweight at barely 2.5 lbs, and missing one of her 10-per-day meals would have left her incredibly vulnerable, to say the least.

I had to wait a day to bring her home (late hour, paperwork, etc), so I prepared to welcome her as best I could for such a last-minute decision I had envisioned but not anticipated coming to fruition so quickly: a little makeshift bed in a basket, soft linens, a few toys I pulled out of my “Toddler Photography Props” bag. Appetizer bowls for food and water.

The first thing she did was march up to the basket and sit it in it. She made herself at home. She took up her space.

The following weeks were trying, particularly in the house-training department, and I recall being so sleep deprived that for days I subsisted on spoonfuls of peanut butter that she flat-out rejected.

And one day, fearful I missed one of her meals, I was unable to wake her. She offered no reaction to her food, peanut butter, plain yogurt, bread. No, it was only a (very panicked) piece of rotisserie chicken nearly stuffed in her mouth that could break through her puppy slumber, a phenomenon that no one warned me about. Her little eyes popping open as if for the first time, at the smell of a fresh, roast chicken sliver.

And so Blossom grew, and grew, and grew some more, and is now a healthy, normal (dubious), independent little lady with, frankly, a wider social circle than me.

At barely 6 lbs, she’s fearless and so far in her short life has explored the far corners of America, from Kitty Hawk to NYC to San Diego to Key West.

Most consider her a pandemic puppy, but I dreamed of having a little sidekick long before 2020. I suppose all that time in isolation, away from friends in family, is what prompted me to get a dog, but I don’t associate those feelings of loneliness and distance with wanting to bring Blossom home.

Blossom fills my heart with happiness and makes me laugh every day.

I’ve had the immense pleasure of watching her grow up, teaching her tricks and shenanigans, and learning her various expressions.

She has the run of the house whether or not I’m home, gives artistic photo processing tips, and is ready for action - whether it’s a morning jog, movie night with popcorn, or hosting guests.

Blossom reminds me to take a break and have fun, that burgers are always a good idea, and that overcoming challenges can be one of the biggest rewards.

Lincoln Destination Wedding & Engagement Photography