The three of us
I did not have any real experience with puppies, I had always been the baby so puppy sitting for cousin Lena for 2 weeks when she was about 9 weeks old was all new to me. My sister Katie did not have much interest in Lena – I guess I had been a pest long enough and she did not want a second pest. Lena liked me and I kind of enjoyed her too. Seems like everything I did, Lena was right there with me like a shadow. She was a cute little thing that was for sure and she really had some sharp puppy teeth.
Lena with me
She was not yet house trained so mom was constantly running out the door with her – seems like she had to pee all the time! Katie and I take big, long walks but Lena was too small for that so mom would take her along but carry her, then put her down for a bit and then carry her some more. We had a lot of snow that year so there were snowbanks on either side of the sidewalks which made it easy for Lena to just walk with us without running into the road. She liked it in the yard with us too but since she was so small she could not stay outside too long without getting cold.
Enjoying the snow
I did learn rather quickly that I am a good disciplinarian! If Lena was too bothersome I could tell her to knock it off and she would listen. She had a lot of respect for whatever I told her. As a matter of fact, 2 yrs later I still tell her what to do and she does it – rather funny since she is now bigger than I am! Since my experience with puppy sitting I really like meeting other little puppies, they are fun and usually like me too.
We enjoyed 2 fun filled weeks but it was stressful, especially for mom having to watch the little one all the time. It was stressful for me too as Lena was always with me and knawing on me – I felt like a living rawhide! When they came to get her, Katie and I were out in the yard and did not know that she had gone home. I came in and searched the entire home in a panic thinking we had lost Lena. Mom told me it was all ok but it took me some time to realize that Lena had gone home and everything was back to normal in our lives.
