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What We Have Been Up To

As I mentioned above, a new full time job and a return to the office for a few days of the week meant a whole readjustment! I had been going in to the office when Grace first came home. But Benny boy came the weekend of the first lockdown…so I had not had to think about what it was going to take to leave two full grown (but still very much full of beans at times…) beasts and manage to get my daughter to and from school! (You can read more on what to expect with a Berner HERE).

And figuring it all out, well it was making me tired…so, so tired…I seriously underestimated what life after the pandemic was going to look like! And you forget pretty quickly what waking up at 4:30 and getting out the door to catch your bus by 6am felt like…

Making Arrangements

Figuring out the arrangements took a fair bit of thought and work. After all, wouldn’t anyone want to walk my really large and weirdly energetic/hoppy Berners? And the dogs know how to use the dog door I had installed…but pretty much refuse to use it…Unless a new person or dog happens to come into the yard, then they’re out the door before you can blink!

I tried talking to dog walkers I knew from my trips to the dog park, but no one had any spots open or were willing to take my two on. I was working from home for a bit yet so had some time to figure it out.

My daughter also represented me with a bit of a challenge because logging in by 6:45am meant no leisurely drive to school since she goes in a different part of the city…But I was able to line up a driver for her relatively easily.

You can imagine my relief when one of the walkers at the park agreed to add another walk to accommodate my pair! And to her surprise they weren’t quite as unruly as they would seem! Sure, Benny loves to attack Grace right before you get in the park…Try to take off after a squirrel and jump and wrestle with his leash…

I’m finding as they get older though that they listen much better and it doesn’t take much to get them back into line…And if I am going to be perfectly honest I love that Benson is still so playful and just a big goon at times!

Return To Office

Just when we were settled into a nice routine again…The next shoe dropped…Back to the office for a few days a week! It had already been delayed a few times but this time it was for real…no more stalling…I won’t lie, it caused me a lot of anxiety. Back to figuring it all out again…I had a dog walker for the daytime and one day a week at Wild Dogs in Uxbridge already…

That being said, Grace being Grace, has decided that the backyard is NOT to be used for going to the bathroom unless it is a dire emergency! Read: if you don’t get her out immediately you’re going through a roll of paper towels to clean up the mess…Especially since she has been known to hold it in for more than 24 hours rather than simply GO IN THE BACKYARD.

This meant adjusting my schedule to make sure I was up and ready in time to take them for a half hour walk at the ungodly hour of 5:30am…With a wakeup at 4:30am. But hey, it was nice to see the sunrise for the brief month or two before it started staying dark for longer again!

What It’s Like Outside at 5:30am

Even in a city as big as Toronto…it is eerily quiet outside at 5:30am…But it’s also incredibly peaceful and therapeutic I find. In the summer months when it is light out you get to hear all the birds starting their day (or in our area the Blue Jays letting out their signature screech…

Beautiful birds for sure but have you ever heard them when they get going? Key reason why I quit putting peanuts in my birdfeeder for them in the morning since they’d sit and scream outside my bedroom window at the crack of dawn every day. If you are curious about what that sounds like, check out their song HERE. And turn it up as loud as you can for the full effect!

Now that it is dark at that time of the morning all the night prowlers are still out! So we have to be wary of skunks, raccoons, coyotes and much more. I often see bats circling overhead as well! Grace decided that she doesn’t like that time of the morning, and will spin and startle at every little sound! On a rare occasion we run into another person, but at that time of day it is instant distrust, particularly from Grace…

Then and Now

So we are back to having things figured out and somewhat settled again. The weather is getting cooler (much to my dismay and Grace and Benson’s liking) meaning I have more indoor time on my hands. In the summer I prefer to spend as much of my day in the garden as possible since being in Canada means you only get three months of the good weather!

And over the course of the past year we have had many new experiences so you can bet that I’ll be doing some catchup writing about them!!

Be sure to check back often for new stories and posts, and don’t forget to leave us a comment to let us know your thoughts below!

The post We Are Back and Better Than Ever! Did You Miss Us? first appeared on Help! I've Got Pets.