I am a cat person, but after we lost both our cats recently (one literally lost, the other died from a long-term kidney issue) we decided to get a dog.
Having a puppy (a whippet, his name is Frank) is almost like having a baby again. For one, like babies — and unlike cats —, you have to teach them everything. Also, you have to do some planning when going out: do they let dogs in (or, do they have space for buggies, are they child-friendly), how long are we spending in the car/train/walking, how are we going to entertain him, can we time things so he’s tired and napping?
It’s interesting to see London from this new perspective, it’s like discovering an entire new city I hadn’t really noticed before.
For example, last weekend we visited Forty Hall in Enfield. We already loved their wines, and found out it’s dog and child friendly so we thought it would be a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. It was. Before Frank, I’d have been happy to just keep buying their wine from our local deli without setting foot on the estate.
I must confess though, I can’t wait for him to grow out of the crazed puppy months (years? it’s getting better…), and I’m very jealous of any well-behaved, calm, well-trained dog I see. I imagine that once he’s at that stage, we’ll be able to take him to even more places, or at least stay in the places we already enjoy for longer. I guess time will tell.