The Countdown

Hi everyone,

We've about one month till I go to New Zealand and get Button, so I've been amping up the preparations. So far I have got a soft playpen from Amazon, a SHERPA pet carrier bag (used from Carousell.com), Zeal treats and a Torus water bowl from pet.co.nz (travel size; I already own the regular sized one). Pet.co.nz is doing a 12 days of Christmas sale so I've been taking advantage of that and sending items to my aunt's place. Other items on my list include a collar and lead, dog food, puppy toys and a food bowl. 

My neighbours have recently got 4 month old puppy, and he looks exactly like Ruffles did when he was young. The first time they met in our lobby Ruffles went crazy not being able to meet him properly (the puppy still needs his last vaccination). Going on his behavior I also learnt our lobby is probably not the ideal place to introduce him to Button- Ruffles considers it part of his home so his automatic reaction is to bark at any unfamiliar dogs that come in. It is super important to me that Button and Ruffles get along swimmingly, so although Ruffles is very sociable to dogs in general I want to make sure everything is set up just right for their first meeting. 

Obviously its different this time around getting Button to when I first got Ruffles. I didn't know anything before I got Ruffles and so I sort of learnt as I went along. While I feel more "ehem" seasoned right now, its been 5 years since I had a puppy and I have an additional set of concerns. Could I really love another dog as much as I love Ruffles? Will I be biased? What if Button is completely different to how Ruffles was? What if he doesn't like Ruffles? What if he doesn't like me? Most of my concerns are probably unfounded. Button comes from an awesome breeder and he has amazing doggy parents with great temperament. I guess its been too long (more than 10 years!) since I've lived in New Zealand, and it worries me about how I will get along without a car, not to mention what I will do with 4 weeks of free time in a foreign place. But I'll have my cousin there so I won't be completely alone. 

Sorry if this post is a bit rambly. Its in my nature to worry about these things, so I guess it can't be helped :p. 

Till the next,
N