Our beloved puppy, Olive.

Who doesn't love dogs? Well, you will be quite surprised to learn that many people fear dogs. And yep, I was one of those people until I met my baby girl.

We brought her home from AARCS, a rescue centre, when she was just 8 weeks old! She was found on a reserve in Saskatchewan along with 13 of her littler-mates. Her mix was unknown for a while, but we finally learned her breed from a DNA test. She is crossed with Belgian Malinois, Akita and Retriever.

I was not interested in having a pet in our brand new house. I was too worried about the floors being scratched or carpet being soiled. I was the person who would cross the street if I saw a dog being walked my way.

I feared dogs growing up. One dog in our neighbourhood was left unleashed on his front lawn and would growl, chase and bark at anyone who walked by his house. He was apparently guarded by an invisible fence - I need to learn what that is but he never left his lawn. I was also jumped by a dog one day walking home from school. A large, black Labrador, ran through 4 lanes of traffic and jumped on top of me! I was horrified!! Since then, I did not want anything to do with a dog, ever, but my hubby really wanted one.

Eventually, I agreed to a small puppy, like 20 pounds max. He wanted a German Shepard who was massive and close to 70 pounds. We could not agree on the size or breed and decided to go look at rescue puppies held in foster care. We saw two dogs who were not small by any means. They were high energy and were not shy with strangers either. They were a no go for me. A few months later, a few brand new puppies came available on AARCS website. We wanted to see two of them. Olive was not on our list as her picture was not very clear. I sent an email to view the puppies we wanted but they had already been owned. Olive was the only one left, so we decided go see her and see what happened. If anything, we would be able to spend time with a puppy and learn a few things as neither of us had ever owned a dog.

Needless to say, the second I laid my eyes on her she stole my heart. I scooped her up and immediately announced that she is my baby girl and I'm taking her home. Olive will be 3 years old in December. She a puppy at heart, super goofy and full of mischief. 

She has brought a lot of warmth into our home and hearts. She has also awoken a new part of me. A part that loves and adores animals. She has taught me patients, gratitude and appreciation of small things. I like to visit dogs or puppies that my neighbours own just to say hi and make new friends. I also like to pet cats and even horses. One day, I'd like to own a farm filled with tons of animals and many dogs. Let's hope I win the lottery!