Pre-Puppy Preparations
Where it all began...
As a newlywed couple, puppy fever struck quick and hard for Jess and Ryan!
Jess has always had a strong love for dogs, growing up with a Jack Russell Terrier named Cloey and co-parenting a sweet toy poodle named Maizie for the past two years with her roommate.
Ryan remembers fondly the experience of caring for Tinker, a lab-mix he fostered for a year when he was in the fifth grade.
A little bit about us: Ryan and Jess, a couple of musical theatre actors, met working on a production of the Wizard of Oz (starring Maizie the toy poodle as Toto).
When Ryan and Jess moved in together, they continued to watch Maizie from time to time. Jess even got a job as a dog walker! There seemed to be a fur baby spot in their hearts they just needed to fill!
On a trip to New York City (our favourite city), we started looking up potential breeds that might work for us. With a few things to consider like size, allergies, personality, etc., (we’ll talk more about that soon!) we enthusiastically decided on an Italian greyhound! From there, things moved pretty quickly. We found a breeder online that fit the bill perfectly. Just a couple of weeks later, we got to meet our future puppy (although we didn’t know which of her litter would end up being ours!)
Flash forward to a week before we pick up our Adelaide and we got the opportunity to visit the breeder again. This time we knew which little fur baby was going to be ours, and as we walked up to the pen full of 8 puppies, our little Adelaide stared us in the face and came right up to say hello. It was the first time it actually hit us - this is our dog and we are now her forever parents. We hear this breed in particular is especially affectionate and in return they are needy of your love and attention. People have used the term “velcro” dog because they like to stick to you. We cuddled our little Adelaide, held her to the sky like Simba in the Lion King, and got MANY puppy kisses. After mom and dad traded off, we placed her back in the pen and the craziness ensued. Adelaide is so sweet and affectionate but also knows how to play with her siblings! After a short play session, she found a comfy spot sprawled out over her brothers and sisters. We gave her a few more snuggles and said one more goodbye until the big day!
At home in Toronto, we have what feels like everything prepared for Adelaide’s arrival. The last few weeks have been filled with many hours of viewing puppy videos (shout-out to Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution program), hours of reading (“How to Train the Best Dog Ever” by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz), shopping for the essentials and time spent connecting with the iggy and dog community. We are overwhelmed with how fantastic the iggy and overall dog community has been for us so far. Everyone is welcoming, generous with advice and overall just a wonderful support in this journey.
We are counting down the days and wrote this post in an effort to remember how we felt before little Adelaide came swooping in and changed our lives. We can’t wait to share with you all of the highs and lows, all of the joys and challenges, and everything in between.
We’re just two weirdos ready to love our little weirdo. Can’t wait for you to be home with us, Adelaide!
Love,
Dog Mom and Dad
Jess and Ryan