It’s rough when your dream comes true and it feels like that might be the biggest mistake of your life.

On January 8, Wyatt and I picked Betty Star up at the airport. SFO was so clean and so empty that we wished we were actually traveling. A super sweet puppy nanny who lives in New York had flown to Chicago to get Betty, and after flying to San Francisco, the nanny planned to visit with local family before heading back to New York later that night. On a bench in baggage claim, we moved Betty from the nanny’s crate into our crate, waved good-bye to the nanny, and headed to the parking garage. Wyatt was bursting with pride as he buckled the carrier into the seat next to him. A true Dog Dad. You might even say, a BONE-afied Dog Dad.

Meeting Betty at home out of her crate was magical. Truly!

And then, beginning around 9pm, the whining started and everything began to go downhill.

Newbies that we were, we thought we’d be able to have Betty sleep in a designated space (the kitchen) in her crate without anyone around. Ha. She cried all night, and I know that because I ended up “sleeping” next to her. Misery. Wyatt got up Saturday morning, eager to spend the day chilling with Betty, reading his book while she hung out placidly, preferably as a foot warmer. But Betty had different ideas, which went something like: Nip, whine, pee, repeat. By Saturday evening, Wyatt was hiding in his closet, deeply regretting ever having asked for a dog. At dinner, over Betty’s incessant whining, Wyatt asked, “Can we return her?” We told him she just got here and needed some time.

On Sunday, which is technically “some time,” and after a day of constantly spraying enzymatic cleaner and mopping up the floor, Wyatt asked, “When was the first time you wished you could return me? NO JUDGMENTS. Seriously. No judgments.” We told him we never wanted to return him, but we totally understood why he was asking the question.

Honestly, Monday was not better. Overnight, Betty peed, pooped, and barfed with just enough time in between each event that sleep was nonexistent. And the month that followed definitely wasn’t awesome for us humans. Betty had a blast, though. I mean, when outside is merely an option for where to pee, there’s not much for a puppy to concern herself with, is there? When we had made it four whole weeks, it felt like a huge milestone. To celebrate, we had a 3-person family party, COVID style, full of giant bags of chips and other snacks while Betty napped in her crate.

Things have definitely improved since that first month. When Wyatt asked the other week, “Remember when I hated her?” (YES. How could I forget?) we got to have a pretty interesting conversation about expectations, how feelings can change, how fast puppies can learn, and how fortunate it was that his hating her was so short-lived.

Occasionally, I announce, “I HAVE REGRETS.” Like the day when Betty ate 2/3 of a cork coaster before anyone noticed. Or when we got to day 27 of the 30-day no accident goal, and then she peed in the house 3 days in a row. Just yesterday, we counted from the last penciled-in “P” on the kitchen calendar, thinking we must be pretty close to a month by now. But no—it had only been 12 days. Someday, maybe we’ll all be able to live in our whole house whenever we want, but it won’t be earlier than May 25.

One significant change since Betty arrived in January is that Wyatt has gone back to school. This shift is good for so many reasons, including that it gives him lots of time to miss hanging out with her during the day. But it also means we’re down one person who can can keep her from whining when she’s bored or lonely in the kitchen. Fortunately, she has gotten much better at walking on the leash, which means I can take her pretty far, up and down hills, and get some real exercise at the same time I’m walking her. She has also gotten really good at playing with other dogs, which means that we’re putting to good use the freebie “All Day Play” passes we got at Wag Hotel. Everybody wins with All Day Play.

I found a bunch of very glamorous photos of Betty on my phone just now. Pretty sure this is Wyatt’s doing.