Yes, we have another baby.
But this time, the baby is a dog. A tiny fluffy creature who stole our hearts at first sight.
Two months ago, Marko’s sister gave us a little white Maltese as a gift – two months old at the time – whom we named Beni.
I didn’t want to write about Beni earlier, because we all needed a bit of time to adjust to each other – him and us alike.
Marko and I had always talked about having a dog, but we’d never come anywhere close to actually making it happen. Since neither of us had ever had a dog as a pet – especially not one that actually lives inside – we had no idea how to look after one or what to expect from the whole experience.
Why We Decided to Get a Dog
When the opportunity came and we were weighing whether to take him or not, Sofia was the deciding factor.
And she simply adores him! Beni is really her dog. Since she’s still too little to look after him herself, Mama and Daddy take care of feeding, bathing, and everything else – while Sofia is there to delight in him, play with him, chase him around, and walk him (together with us, of course).
The fact that Sofia, the moment she opens her eyes, goes straight to Beni’s corner to cuddle him before she calls for me or Marko – or that the second she enters the building she starts shouting “Beni, Beni!” and plays with him first when she comes into the apartment before even saying hello to us – plus her indescribably sweet laugh when she chases or plays with him: all of this is a clear sign to Marko and me that we made the right decision letting Beni into our lives.
It’s incredible how much happiness and love such a tiny creature can bring.
Having a dog is not the same as having a child – simply because dogs are less demanding than children. I don’t mean that children are demanding in a negative sense – it’s just a fact.
That said, it doesn’t mean a dog doesn’t need care and attention, especially when he’s still a puppy himself.
How to Prepare for a Puppy
Being the thorough bookworm I am, with no prior practical experience, I dutifully collected every book I could find at the library about dogs and Maltese in particular, about puppy upbringing in general, and also about the relationship between children and dogs. I also watched loads of YouTube videos about raising and training puppies. And all of that genuinely helped – because we avoided a lot of situations that would have sent us into a panic otherwise, like figuring out where to teach him to go to the bathroom.
How Beni Changed Our Daily Life
It would be a lie to say everything is the same as before – because it isn’t. Luckily we got him during a period when we didn’t have too many commitments, since there were public holidays here and the university was closed for two full weeks. So we had exactly the right amount of time to get used to him, learn his needs, and adapt him to most of our routines.
We split the responsibilities so that Marko drops off and picks up Sofia from kindergarten, while I spend most days at home writing my Master’s thesis and keeping an eye on Beni. This doesn’t feel hard to me, since the university is slowly entering exam preparation season and I prefer writing at home during that time anyway – the reading rooms fill up with students who only now remember they need to study and write papers. At home I have my own little corner to work and my peace and quiet – and now, company too.
What Beni has brought into my working day – something new but genuinely good – is the “obligation” to walk him in the morning before I start writing, so he tires himself out and sleeps through most of the morning, letting me work undisturbed. This suits me perfectly, because now I have a reason to force myself to go outside for some fresh air in the morning. Before, I’d lock myself in from the moment I got up until Marko and Sofia came home, thinking even a short walk would be wasted time I could spend writing. But honestly, it’s healthier – for the body and the mind – to breathe fresh air in the morning, because not only do I wake up more easily, my concentration and motivation are genuinely stronger too.
Of course there are also the slightly more exhausting moments, like when Beni starts whining in the middle of the night because he needs to do his business – but after a few days we managed to train him to go straight back to bed and keep sleeping afterward, rather than deciding it’s playtime.
Every smile of Sofka’s that involves Beni, and all his cuddles, are more than worth the effort.
Since Beni is a new member of our family and we’re all learning together how to live with him, and since Sofka’s growing up has become inseparable from him, expect more posts about the two of them and our observations in the coming weeks.
Who knows – maybe it’ll help someone decide to take the step of expanding their family with a small fluffy member.
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