Silas will be seven months old tomorrow - how can it be? I feel as though we just welcomed him into our family and he’s now close to being a full grown Labrador. As I sit here writing this, I wish he was curled up at my feet, but he’s been off at “boarding school” for the last two weeks. Let me back up…

In early February Silas got very sick after ingesting things he should not have, despite having had him attached to me since the day we brought him home. I hired a local trainer for some help with the basics and she told me I was being a “helicopter mom” and that I needed to give him a bit of freedom. The day I allowed him to walk around the house “off leash” while I folded some laundry and talked to my Mom, he downed a sock in a matter of minutes. The socks came back up, but he remained incredibly sick and after two ER visits, they found he had a piece of stick and a toy hanging out in his stomach. A pricey emergency surgery and some days in the hospital later, we brought him home to heal. February was not a great month…

This lesson was incredibly painful because I pride myself in being a great pet-parent. Other than parenting our daughters, my greatest joy has been caring for our creatures. So the fact that I had allowed someone’s opinion to dictate my behavior unnerved me to the core. I’ve always been a “trust your gut” kind of person, and probably the worst advice a Labrador owner could get is to give the dog some freedom. And, I was also despondent because I knew what might have happened.

Silas was ultimately fine, healed quickly, and now we remember how mouthy Labs are - it’s been many years since having one under our roof. But after his recovery we found ourselves with a six-month old “teenage” Lab whose strength we barely recognized or could handle. He was mischievous, headstrong and his determination to make friends knocked me flat on our walks a few times. So, after some family discussions, we made the decision to send him to the trainer we’d had when we lived in Austin. This man takes one dog at a time into his home with his family while he teaches all the important components of being a good family pet. I considered it a bit of a failure on my part, but I am a pet lover and caretaker, not a trainer. My daughters reminded me that our horses were professionally trained and it’s ultimately better for Silas to have a solid base with a professional. In the weeks prior to this decision, I’d found myself becoming frustrated and stressed when things began to feel out of control, and that wasn’t good for either of us. He is now almost half way through the training process and happy as can be. Labs are “bloom where planted” creatures, it’s one of the reasons I adore them so. much.

My adjustment to his absence has not been as smooth. Despite having a house full of animals, Silas was “the energy” and since October he’s been my full-time job. We spend all day together and my schedule is planned around his needs. The silence the first day he was gone was almost unbearable and watching our other animals search for him painful. This strengthened something I already knew about myself… that I thrive on a bit of chaos. I was never happier than when my children were small, we lived on a farm with lots of dogs, horses, hens, sheep, cats… you get the picture.

This experience secured for me the importance of animals in my life. That I’m happier when I have an animal who needs me. That I really don’t mind getting up in the night with a puppy (or an old dog) because I know they know I love them. That I don’t know what I’d do without them.

I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I’m counting the days until mid April and driving the trainer crazy with “checking in” texts, but that’s ok. This too shall pass and the house will be crazy again, just like I like it.