Stella’s birthday is April 15, 2011. I took her home July 23, 2011. She is my first dog. I grew up with cats but all I ever wanted was a dog! I moved out of my mom’s house and in a few months set out adopt the perfect dog for me. No way was a 4 month old puppy what I had in mind. I thought I wanted a male dog that was between 2-3 years old, around 45 pounds. I had no clue how to potty train a dog! I also was living in an apartment (small dogs please), on the 3rd floor (seriously, potty training) and there was already a 2 year old female dog living there.
Well I go to meet with dog and foster Mom that’s a few towns over. When I showed up to the house there’s over 10 dogs there! They all come rushing towards my car to great me ( how great)! The dog I went toent on to keep playing in the yard. I sat down to see if he would come over to say hi but instead this little nugget climbed into my lap, put her head on my thigh and fell fast asleep. I asked the foster mom if she was up for adoption and she said “looks like she adopted you”. At the time her name was Sugar Toes. That was it. I knew she was coming home with me that day.
So we get home and I realize I have absolutely NO CLUE what I’m doing. I didn’t read any puppy books, I’ve barely been responsible for myself let a lone another living creature. The first few months were rough. There were quite a few accidents, she chewed my favorite pair of Oakley Sunglasses, she would NOT sleep in her crate. It took a lot of training for both us to figure this whole thing out. I found out quickly though, the more I could tire out Stella the better she behaved. Luckily there were 100’s of miles of trails in Summit County, a lot that we could just walk to. I read somewhere that you cannot walk a puppy too much because their joints aren’t developed yet. So we kept it to 2-3 miles hikes that didn’t have much incline. Also once she had all her vaccinations we frequented the dog park in Breckenridge. We still love visiting this dog park. The views are amazing!
I was never much of a hiker before I adopted Stella. Okay, I didn’t hike before I got her. I didn’t get it. You just keep walking? I didn’t think it was actual exercise, I thought it sounded boring and uneventful. Boy was I wrong. I live for getting out on the trails now. There is peace among the trees, I love being sore after steep incline and it really tires Stella out. Her eyes light up when we arrive at a trail head and so do mine.
“The mountains are calling and I must go” -John Muir
PupsPeaksPizza 