Familiar Routines Return

It has been a year since Honey, the first puppy we raised for Southeastern Guide Dogs, was a puppy in our home, but I find it remarkable how quickly we have readjusted to life with a puppy in the house again.   Our once familiar routines are back and we are in full swing of ‘puppy’ raising again.  While I admit, I am not a fan of disturbed sleep due to a whimpering puppy, having Beacon alert us to the fact he needs to go ‘busy’ is during the night is a huge plus considering the messy alternative.

Our weekday morning routine goes something like this…

• Beacon beats the alarm clock to wake us in the morning
• Scotty takes Beacon out to busy (and Beacon, thankfully, always does this quickly)
• Scotty and Beacon eat breakfast together
• While Scotty showers, Beacon hangs out and plays in the bathroom
• I (finally) force myself out of bed and take Beacon to busy while Scotty dresses for work
• After Scotty leaves for work, I try to fit in a few minutes of training before I wake Billy for school
• Beacon sits ‘shotgun’ (on the floorboard, of course) while I take Billy to school
• One last ‘busy’ before Beacon is ready for his morning nap and I race to straighten up and shower before Beacon is ready to wake for some mid-morning playtime and training

For some of you, this may not sound like a great start to a new day but seeing Beacon’s little face each morning and knowing that we were the ones chosen to raise this little future guide dog puppy makes the broken sleep, constant training and the trying-to-get-it-all-done-before-the-puppy-wakes morning routine more than worth it.