Tag: Dog Mom

Welcome to my site! I’m Jessica, and I’m a Dog Mom. I started the pawrenting journey in 2014 when my husband and I adopted Cookie. Since then, we’ve also adopted Ziggy and Chip. I’ve learned a lot over the years, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you.

About me

I’ve always loved dogs since I was a kid. I convinced my parents that I should get a dog because I was the only one who had never had a dog, and fish didn’t make good pets because you couldn’t take them for a walk. (I was 8, and I was terrible at walking Lady.)

After my childhood dog passed away while in college, I decided I didn’t want to get another dog until I was on my own. Like in many households, I may have been the one that advocated for getting and ultimately picked Lady, but she quickly became my mom’s dog.

I have worked in the corporate world in marketing and product management. In the years since adopting Cookie, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole of “crazy” Dog Mom. I would love to be a stay-at-home Dog Mom or otherwise immerse myself in the world of dogs. Maybe that’s in the cards, or maybe my love of dogs will be what keeps me sane in the professional world.

Why Blog, Why Now

In March 2019, my husband and I adopted our second dog, Ziggy. He was three months old when we brought him home. About six months into the pandemic, in October 2020, Ziggy was diagnosed with cancer. Two months shy of his second birthday, his hind leg was amputated, and right around his second birthday, we finally learned what kind of cancer he had – hemangiosarcoma.

Hemangiosarcoma is a cancer of blood vessels. It is common and often has a very short survival time (about six months). Ziggy lived with hemangiosarcoma for 17 months. He died just three months after his third birthday.

As our journey into canine cancer began, I learned SO much – not just about canine cancer, but canine health in general. There is so much that seems obvious when you learn it, but it is counter to common knowledge or what we knew as kids with our dogs.

Dogs are incredibly precious to me. They are loving, and loyal and bring us so much joy. No matter how long they live, their lives are always too short.

With each of our dogs, I learn something that makes me a better Dog Mom to the next dog in our life. I want to do everything I can to give them the longest, best life possible. And I want to help like-minded pawrents do the same for their pups.

Meet The Pups

Now it’s time to meet our dogs, and the family dogs, that will make appearances in future posts.

Cookie

Cookie made me a Dog Mom. My husband and I adopted her in September 2014 when she was three months old. She benefitted greatly from being an only child for years.

She is incredibly smart, a fast learner, a good two shoes, strong willed, friendly but anti-social, and an amazing athlete. Cookie introduced us to the world of dog sports beyond obedience.

While Cookie earned titles in agility, barn hunt, and tricks, she also tried tracking and nose work.

Ziggy

We brought Ziggy home in March 2019, also aged three months. He was our first second dog. Ziggy was my greatest teacher and the inspiration for this blog.

There will be many posts about everything that Ziggy taught me, but the top two are how to advocate for your dog and how to pawrent two dogs.

Ziggy was the happiest, friendliest, and sweetest pup. His tail was always thumping, and he was delighted to go with the flow. I hate that he had to be one for half of his too short life, but he was also a fantastic patient.

Cookie introduced us to dog sports, and Ziggy introduced us to canine holistic health care.

Chip

Seven months after Ziggy passed, we made room in our hearts for our second second dog, Chip. In October 2022, Chip became the third dog to enter our home at the age of three months.

Chip is a firecracker, and our biggest challenge. He is vocal, anxious, stubborn, silly, sweet, and smarter than I often give him credit for. Chip lived through a lot in his first three months of life, and it shows. It hasn’t quite been a year, but he has come SUCH a long way.

In under a year Chip has taught me that patience and love pays off. He reinforced a lesson learned with Ziggy – that every dog is different. Most importantly Chip is teaching me how misunderstood reactive dogs are.

The family dogs

Lastly are two girls no longer with us, Lady and Brie.

Lady joined our family in 1991 and passed in 2004. Compared to the dogs I have now, she was tiny – just 20 pounds! But boy did she have presence. While she was only ever taught the most basic obedience commands, Lady was very well behaved and super smart. She was healthy her whole life, until the last year or two when she was on several heart medications.

Brie replaced me when I moved out on my own. My mom lasted five months after I moved out before bringing home Brie. She was at least a year old when she joined the family in 2007 and she crossed the rainbow bridge in 2019. Brie never played, was a steady companion, apparently could hold a grudge, had separation anxiety, and taught Cookie how to behave and paw at the door. (Meanwhile, Cookie taught Brie how to bark and eat grass.)

Here we Go

In a nutshell that’s me and the dogs of my life. I look forward to sharing lessons learned, resources I turn to, products I’ve tried, and countless silly stories.

An important note and reminder: I’m not a veterinarian, certified dog trainer, or other dog professional. I’m a dog mom sharing her tales in pawrenting.

While I hope that my experiences help you, I’m only an expert in the dogs that I’ve lived with (and even with them, I’m always learning). So please, consult the experts that are part of your pack for the needs the pups in your life. When applicable, I’ll link to accounts of the professionals that I follow.