New Family, New Experiences

Compared to other new dog mom's I've met, I'm extremely late to the game on announcing this. Admittedly, I've been taking pictures of her nearly every day or my boyfriend is and sending them to me.

I adopted a new puppy back in November 2024. She wasn't an early Christmas present or a belated birthday present, but she wasn't a 'no reason' puppy either.

Meet Whisper Lady,

She was adopted from Wagging Hearts Dog Rescue. A breeder surrender, she's a purebred American Cocker Spaniel. She came with a docked tail, no dewclaws and a grade 4 heart murmur. Looking back, the rescue didn't tell us WHY she was surrendered; Could be that the breeder was getting out of the game, was shut down, was looking to make a change... But I wonder if it was because of the heart murmur. But their loss was my gain.

I love this puppy. Though I call her my 'lemon' dog. Not because she's sour in any way and obviously she doesn't have yellow on her. It's because of her heart condition. And the fact that she's a cocker. Prone to skin issues, ear issues, heart issues, eye issues.... The list goes on but I fell in love with her the moment I met her.

She's currently, as I write this, 6 months old. And it's been a wild ride of 4 months with her. Training wise, I sort of hate how smart she is but also love it since she's learned so many steps already.

Her name comes from her heart condition. "Whisper" for the sound her murmur makes. When her heart sounds, there's a whisper "woosh" sound that follows. And "Lady" because I needed a middle name to use when I'm annoyed with her. Like any mother I've ever known.

It is odd having a new puppy for the first time in nearly 8 years. And she's by far the youngest puppy I've owned. She was only 2 months when I adopted her. Everything for her was brand new. And in turn, it was brand new for me too.

It also has been a lesson in "practice what I preach". Giving myself advice on how to train her and it's been sort of refreshing to see it work with my own puppy.