When I wake up in the morning it is to one of the following scenarios: A.) a tiny paw resting on my cheek while baby bulldog licks my face and chews my hair until I wake up. or B.) My alarm rings and I awake with baby bulldog's face pressed against mine, her snoring louder than you would expect such a little thing to be capable of. When it is the later scenario, it usually takes 10-15 minutes of cuddling and moving her around to wake up. And since neither of us really enjoys the morning, we always seem to convince each other to snooze for just a few more minutes.
Once we finally wake up, we go right outside to go potty, have breakfast and then play on the floor for a while. Then I get into the shower and baby howl/squeal/yelps for the entire time I'm in there. It's been 3 weeks of this happening every day but sometimes I still jump out halfway through to make sure she isn't being torn limb from limb (for the record, she's always fine, just unhappy about being left out).
Eventually, we make out way into the office where we play some more, go outside and the baby sits on my lap while I work. When we go home, there is more playing, more lap sitting and also time for her to play with, bite and sit on my roommates.
In the three weeks I have had baby bulldog, we have not been apart for more than 2 hours at a time. But that is going to change this week. Tomorrow I am getting on an airplane and heading to New York for a fund raising for camps conference. Ordinarily, I would be thrilled. Anytime I can get on a plane, I'm excited. But the added bonus of going to a camp, hanging out with camp people, talking about camp stuff... I can't think of anything better! But now I'm a puppy mom and the thought of leaving my baby is making me burst into tears and feel sick every time I think about it.
After agonizing over the best possible situation for her, I finally decided to send her back to the breeder's to be boarded. They still have 4 puppies from her litter left, so she will have lots of company and love. Plus, the breeder spends a lot of time making sure the puppies are cared for, and knows puppies better than I do, so I know she'll be safe and looked after.
I am terribly afraid she will think I am taking her back and that her brothers and sisters will make fun of her for being returned, or that she will completely forget me and be so happy to be back with them that when I come back for her, it will be the same trauma as when I first brought her home. It's absolutely awful. And yes, I've considered canceling my trip, despite having been so excited about this conference that I was planning to pay my own way if the Board didn't approve it (they did, and so, on top of all of the fabulousness of being camp related, it's also a free trip!). But that was pre-puppy, so now I'm just feeling stressed out. I hope it is fun for her to play with other puppies for a few days, and she doesn't even realize I'm gone until I come back to get her and life is good. Ugh.
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