The Finn Chronicles – Welcome Home

EVERY DOG'S STORY
by Mary Oliver

I have a bed, my very own.
It's just my size.
And sometimes I like to sleep alone
with dreams inside my eyes.

But sometimes dreams are dark and wild and creepy
and I wake and am afraid, though I don't know why.
But I'm no longer sleepy
and too slowly the hours go by.

So I climb on the bed where the light of the moon
is shining on your face
and I know it will be morning soon.

Everybody needs a safe place.


from: Dog Songs, New York: The Penguin Press, 2013.

Our new family member, Finn the wheaten terrier, came home with us on Wednesday, February 19. Born on December 18, he is at a teddy bear stage: fuzzy, cuddly, soft. He mouths everything, follows us everywhere except when he needs to sneak in an accident. Crate training is a challenge, but we want him to have a safe place to be when he can’t be monitored or there is some kind of work going on inside our house, so it’s a must. Puppies are a lot: a lot of work, a lot of joy, a lot of snuggles, a lot of clean-up.

He hasn’t met many people yet. We have introduced him to our family – kids, grandkids, my brother and sister-in-law – and a couple of neighbors who saw him when we took him outside. Major socializing will come a little later, after his next round of shots. He has other dogs to meet in our neighborhood and in our family.

Meanwhile, Finn is getting used to us and we to him. He’s learning how to signal to go outside. He’s sleeping overnight without much trouble. He’s learned that granddaughter Maeve, at three, is the closest thing to another puppy around our house. He’s figured out which cupboard hides the dog food bag. And he charmed everyone at Minnepau Veterinary Clinic when he had his well-puppy visit one week after we brought him home. (By the way, we were, in turn, charmed by everyone there. It was a great experience meeting Dr. Lorenz and Lisa and Holly.)

The next few months will be full of dog training. As spring creeps in, Finn will bloom into a bigger dog. We couldn’t be happier about that.