Welcome to the family...

Hello!

Firstly, I just want to say I’m SO sorry it’s been so long since my last post. Thank you for all the lovely messages checking in on me, I do appreciate them.

This post is just to say I will be taking a break from Substack over the Summer, but hopefully I will return once things have calmed down a bit in my life.

You see, things were going well with the medications, so well in fact, that I thought it was the perfect opportunity to fulfil one of my dreams…

I always said to myself that if the medications worked and I was finally getting some of my energy back, I wanted to start grabbing life back. All the things I thought about doing when I was stuck in my bed with pain and fatigue, I wanted to start doing.

And one of those things was to…. own my very own puppy!!

I’ve always loved dogs, but it’s never been the right time to own one. But now I’ve started to have more energy and time to dedicate, I thought why not!

I thought it would be lovely to have some company around the house and a dog would encourage me to get regular exercise which is so desperately needed with my condition, to stretch out and keep those joints moving.

A perfect opportunity came up, a black Labrador puppy needed a home and we have been in non-stop puppy mode for the past 6 weeks (wow that time has flown by!).

Here she is, her name is Winnie! She is in equal parts an absolute little shit (in the way that mischievous puppies are), and bloody adorable haha.

It’s been an absolute rollercoaster of emotions- I knew it was going to be hard raising a pup, but my gosh, does it take a lot of dedication; sleepless nights, potty training, trying to escape their piranha teeth and trying to burn off their constant stream of energy, phew!

There has been many tears and wondering ‘what the bloody hell have we taken on?’ moments. You always feel like you’re doing something wrong. There is such conflicting information out there about how to raise a puppy, that it makes you feel like you are a constant failure. So in the end, you have to just say to yourself ‘I’m trying my best’. She is happy, fed, warm and safe and that’s what counts.

She’s a little smarty pants, so training is going well and she’s extremely food driven (typical Labrador!), so that’s been a huge bonus. We start puppy classes this weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing how she gets on.

I’ve also had to remind myself that I am still quite sick and I shouldn’t beat myself up too much trying to do everything perfectly. Hence why I haven’t been writing- it was just one task too many for me at this time. Whenever she has been sleeping, I’ve taken that opportunity to relax or do my chores around the house to try and conserve my energy. I have felt a flare up coming on over the past week and I’m trying my best not to overdo it and burn out too soon.

There has of course been some lovely times though; snuggles on my lap, the excitement of taking her out for her first walk, those moments where training has finally stuck and she ‘sits’ on command, feel like such an achievement.

There is a long road ahead sculpting her into our perfect canine companion, but we are making great progress everyday.

I do apologise that I won’t be able to keep up with things on here and it may take me a while to reply to messages, but thank you for your support. I hope that you are all doing ok and I will keep you posted where I can.

I hope you all have a lovely Summer!

How about you?

Do you own any pets? Has it improved your health or is it difficult to manage with your illness? Do you have any tips to share with us on how you balance it all? If you have raised a puppy yourself, do you have any tips to share?

And of course feel free to share some pet pictures! I would love to see them.

Lots of Love & Hugs,

Amanda (and Winnie!) x