Maya

Day before yesterday, my sister, mom and I drove to Mississauga to pick up our miniature poodle pup from the breeder's home. A bubbly, middle-aged woman greeted us at the door and ushered us into her living room, where she brought out our pup. I was anxious for a couple seconds; what would she look like? Would she be cute? Would she be friendly? My questions were soon answered when the breeder came back into the living room carrying an adorable black female pup in her arms, with two soulful eyes and a tiny black nose.

Was she friendly? Definitely yes. The puppy leapt out of the woman's arms as she lowered them and literally attacked my sister and me with affection, jumping in and out of our laps and nuzzling her head into our open arms. She was a bundle of energy, a little spark of mischief that bounded back and forth across the room. I immediately felt a connection to her and a feeling that we'd chosen the right pooch. 

Of course, buying a miniature poodle pup (or any pup for that matter) may sound fantastic, but then comes the hard part ... potty training. Over the past two days, my mom, sister and I have taken tiresome shifts supervising the puppy and placing her on her special doggie pad right as she squats down to pee. I made the mistake of bringing her onto my bed with a full bladder - let's just say that my blanket went straight into the wash.

She also seems to enjoy chewing everything. A family friend came over with a Holter monitor strapped to his chest (for measuring heart function) and a long, thin wire that ran down into his pocket, where it attached to a controlling remote. Puppy didn't care that it was medical equipment - she grabbed that wire between her teeth and had to be forcefully pried off.

Then again, the advantages of owning a tiny, 8-week old pup far outweigh the negatives. This afternoon my Hematology shift at Juravinski was cancelled and I was feeling somewhat stressed and unwell. So I packed poochie into her crate and set off for Mac, where I introduced her to a bunch of friends. Never have I had so many people converge on me at once ... it was like I was carrying the Holy Grail. Even though the pup was quite shy, she didn't fail to make nearly everyone gush over her. 

But what about the name? We started with "Leela", an Indian name, and then jumped to "Kala", which means "Black" in Hindi before all deciding that "Maya" was splendid. 

All this weekend, friends are visiting one after the other to meet Maya. There's something about a puppy that is irresistible. Maybe it's the spontaneous energy, or the boundless curiosity, or the unbridled affection ... whatever it is, this furry little creature has injected fresh energy into our social lives. Within no time, Maya will be an adolescent. I plan to savour her puppyhood, and take her on several more trips to McMaster to meet new friends. I'm looking forward to being woken up in the morning by the cold end of her snout, and going on long runs together through Churchill park.

I feel a sense of connection and adoration for my new pooch, and I can only hope that she feels (or will come to feel) the same way.