I Can Finally Call Myself a ‘Mom’

Well not quite the kind of mom you are thinking of. You see, it has been a lifelong goal of mine to be a mom but not just ANY mom, a DOG mom!

Yes, the stars have finally aligned and everything fell into place! I know I am coming off a bit dramatic but my friends and family can vouch for me that I have been wanting a dog for as long as I can remember.

How It All Began

I think it started way back when I was little and I was obsessed with “Spot the dog” books, you know, the interactive books where things pop out and stuff? Or maybe it was because I liked the interactive aspect of the book? Who knows? All I can say is that I can’t even remember when my love of dogs started but in recent memory, I think I started considering it seriously in 2012. My ex and I bought a place together and he had a dog of his own whom I grew to love. Our plan when we moved into the new place was to get a second dog and that dog would have been mine. However, things didn’t pan out and fast forward to 2014, I found myself longing for a furry companion even after the end of my relationship. At that time I was still living at home and my mom would probably disowned me if I got a dog so that was out of the question. Instead, I decided to volunteer as a dog walked at a dog shelter in a small town called Cochrane just outside of Calgary. I would walk 2-3 dogs once a week and get my fill on doggy love while giving back to the community at the same time. Volunteering at the shelter definitely put things into perspective of owning a dog but I knew it wouldn’t be possible for me to adopt a dog because my plan was to move to Australia for my working holiday in the next seven months.

When I moved to Australia, I was on a working holiday so my future was unpredictable so having a dog was out of the question. Eventually I met my Australian partner/boyfriend and we moved into our first place together shortly after. Unfortunately, the place we moved into didn’t allow pets. Fast forward to March 2020, the beginning of the pandemic (COVID-19) we know today. I was browsing through the rental listings as our lease was coming to an end when I came across a listing that had a similar layout as our current place but mirrored in the building next door. I immediately arranged a private inspection to view the property. Before you know it, my partner and I moved in within a week of viewing it because they allowed dogs!

The Journey to Find the One

Everything was coming together, we found a place that allowed dogs and we have been working from home since the pandemic started. And so my journey begins to find “the one”. I started looking at shelters everywhere online in Sydney, hoping to come across the dog of my dream. I was in search of a small Adult dog and preferably hypoallergenic. I went through all the dog shelter websites but every time I found a dog that I thought was “the one”, it was already adopted by the time I called the shelter. It turned out it was because of the pandemic, there has been an increase in demand for animal adoption so shelters weren’t able to keep their website up to date. I started becoming disillusioned that I won’t be able to find “the one’. I started looking at breeders as an alternative option. Originally, I wasn’t too keen on having a puppy because of three reasons:

1. I wasn’t too keen on going through the puppy phase
2. There are many dogs out there that needs a forever home
3. I didn’t want to be funding puppy mills

I started talking to a friend of mine who is a pet photographer how I wanted a small hypoallergenic dog. She told me she recently took pictures of an Havanese breeder’s litter of puppies. She told me many positive things about the breeder including how knowledgeable he was about the breeder. So I decided it was worth a shot. I started by typing an email telling the breeder a little about myself and my boyfriend. I didn’t hear back from him for a week. My anticipation got the best of me so I decided to call him directly. When I spoke to the breeder, he told me he had a litter of five but there was only one little black boy puppy available for adoption.

When I envisioned my dream dog, I’ve always thought I would have a white Maltese looking dog with a cute little black button nose. So when the breeder told me there was black male dog left, I hesitated because I didn’t want to settle. However, I changed my mind when he sent me a video of the boy. I immediately fell in love and I knew I had to have him. He was black all over with a white chest, white paws and white nose. It was meant to be. I put my deposit down the same day.

Bringing Shadow Rick Home

Shadow Rick? Why Shadow Rick is the question I get asked. His name is Shadow because he is all black and he follows you everywhere. As for the Rick, it was purely because my boyfriend and I thought it would be hilarious to call him old man’s name (sorry to all the young Ricks out there). He has a Chinese name too, my parents gifted him the name of ‘小黑’ which means ‘little’ black’. Chinese people tends to be quite literal with their pet names I find.

I remember the day before we were supposed to pick up Shadow Rick, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t believe my dream of having my very own dog is finally coming true. When the morning finally came, my boyfriend and I drove an hour west of Sydney to pick up our puppy. The process of getting Shadow Rick was pretty straight forward. Before you know it, we were on our way back to home with our new family member. But…everything wasn’t what I had imagined it to be.

Things People Don’t Tell you About Owning a Dog

We were 15 minutes away from home when Shadow Rick got car sickness and vomited in his crate. Then right when we got home, he proceed to have diarrhoea in his crate. He was covered in his vomit and diarrhoea and now I have further traumatising by giving him his first bath. Not a great start. When you first get a dog, people tell you that you clean alot of poo and pee. I can do you, that is pretty much ALL you do for the first three months. One thing that people DON’T tell you is that ‘puppy blues’ is a thing. What is that you may ask? It is pretty much postpartum but for puppies. Unfortunately, I found myself not being able to connect with Shadow Rick at all, his constant ‘land sharking’ (biting you all the time) was intense and I started feeling pretty depress. I didn’t even realise that was a thing until I started researching the internet to understand my feelings. Most people envisioned getting a puppy is all rainbows and butterflies but in reality, getting a new puppy requires ALOT of hard work, dedication and patience. This feeling of depression lasted for about a month.

My Dog, Shadow Rick

I started building the bond with Shadow Rick when I started his training. I quickly learned how much of a quick learner he was when it comes to food. Before you know it, he was picking up all the tricks at an incredible rate. Dog training takes alot of patience and consistency. It wasn’t just me teaching Shadow Rick but he was also teaching me, the ability to be patient. Your dog is as well trained as the efforts you put in. Today I can look back and I say that everything I have gone through was well worth it. He is the best dog I can ever ask for. He doesn’t bark, he doesn’t whine and he doesn’t have separation anxiety. Which is funny because when I was researching the Havanese breed, they were supposed to exhibit all those traits. He is probably one of the chillest dogs I know, not that I am biased…Shadow Rick has his quirks too, he loves to sleep in his back, he is an old man in a dog’s body (old man because of all the sighing he does when he lays down) and he is such a patient dog when it comes to senior dogs and young toddlers (adjusting his energy to suit the moment). He is also very smart, alot smarter than I give him credit for. Last but not least, Shadow Rick is a lover of life and embraces everything that comes his way.

“Shadow Rick, Mommy and Daddy loves you very much and we feel honoured to be able to watch you grow up. You fill our life with joy and laughter. We wish you to live a long, healthy and happy life.”