Not-So-Still Life with Puppy (3 weeks and counting)

Everyone warned me that having a dog would change my life - and they were right. What I didn't know was exactly how it would change my life, that is, beyond the obvious pee and poo issues, and having to hide all objects worthy of chewing (i.e., everything that is not made of iron or hot lava - on second thought, you have to hide those things too). Life has changed on so many levels, from how I get up in the morning (and when), and how I plan my day (can you say puppy-centered?), to my ability to live in a messy house, which I never thought possible and now (surprise, surprise) seems to be the norm.

Life outside is different too. I am seeing the world through puppy's eyes, which are low to the ground and scanning every inch of dirt. Just taking our morning walk, over streets that I've already walked countless times since moving here, I am noticing so many things I didn't notice before. For instance, I never noticed how much trash is lying around our neighborhood! Before this, I thought of our area as relatively clean. Now I see that I wasn't looking closely enough, or I was purposely shutting out the elements in the landscape that bothered me. There is trash everywhere - woven in amongst the leaves and grass and tree roots. And for Lottie, these candy wrappers and soda cans and "mystery" trash items (not to mention other dog feces, GROSS), are unbelievably interesting discoveries, which merit complete and total oral exploration. Which means I am constantly pulling on her leash, saying "Leave it" (which she'll do, if there's a treat involved), while the latent community activist in me is actually starting to wonder about organizing a neighborhood clean-up. Or talking to the folks at the church school nearby, whose parking lot seems to be a particular depository for trash. Can't they get a group of kids together and clean up this junk? Make it a school project, for credit? Put handmade signs on the grass to deter littering?

Wow. And I thought I was just going out for a walk....! This is what happens when you settle down in a home in the sort-of-suburbs with a dog. One minute you're walking your dog in the neighborhood, the next minute you're screaming through a megaphone at a rally of "citizens against littering." Yikes! Or should I say, Woof!