By Allis Derian

Earl, our yellow lab puppy.

I wake up at 5:30 a.m. to sharp puppy teeth pulling at my hair. My new 10-week-old yellow lab, Earl, has just woken up. I roll out of bed, not ready to be awake. I grab Earl and quietly tiptoe to the front door, trying not to wake up my three other dogs. As I’m holding the puppy, I somehow open the front door to let him out. It’s still dark out, and I’m so tired that I can’t tell if I’m awake or not. 

Our oldest dog of four, an 11-year-old English lab named Duke, lays around all day and has gotten a little overweight. We thought that introducing a young puppy to the family would give him a reason to get up and run around. 

Three of our four dogs are from Puppy Spot, a website where breeders sell puppies. After some research, I came across some people who are unhappy with the company. Customers are unable to reach out to breeders after purchasing a puppy, which raises concerns about health and behavioral issues. A review from Reddit user Capable-Run-3893 said, “I will never use PuppySpot again. In fact, I wish someone had written this review and warned me before I lost nearly $5K & went through a painful emotional rollercoaster.”

Duke.

When we first purchased from PuppySpot, I was around six years old. We haven’t experienced any problems, and our dogs have lived long, healthy lives. Our fourth dog, Baxter, was abandoned by his previous owners. He was living in our backyard for almost a year until he felt safe enough to come inside and eat. Earl was delivered to our house after a long road trip from a breeder in Missouri. He was anxious but quickly got used to his new home.

Left to right: Duke, Baxter, Duchess.

Earl sniffs around in the grass in the front yard for a few minutes and relieves himself. Once Earl and I make it back upstairs to my room, there’s nothing I want more than to go back to bed. Sadly, Earl has other plans. As I toss and turn in my bed, trying to fall back asleep, Earl begins to cry. I hope that it’ll pass, but it doesn’t. He only gets louder and more upset. I get out of bed and stomp across my room, hoping to find a toy for him, but I don’t. For a second, I debate whether or not I should go downstairs and get one, or just let him chew on one of my sneakers. 

After I successfully distract Earl with one of my old shoes, I get back into bed yet again. After laying in my bed and not being able to fall asleep, Earl and I head downstairs for breakfast. I fill his little bowl with his puppy food, give him water, and let him eat. He inhales all of his breakfast in about 30 seconds, and then begins trying to get inside the large bag of food.

Duchess and Earl.

As I fight him off, my other dogs wake up. When Earl realizes this, he gives up on the food and sprints towards Duke. He latches onto Duke’s collar with his sharp teeth and begins pulling him around. Duke, being old and tired, just lets it happen. Earl, on the other hand, is having the time of his life. He jumps around taunting Duke, letting out his high-pitched bark and trying to intimidate him. Duke has no reaction. In a split second, Earl forgets all about Duke and beelines towards my shoe that I left at the bottom of the stairs.

I get a good 30 minutes of peace as Earl chews up my Birkenstock. Dutchess, my 9-year-old English lab, runs into the kitchen barking for no reason, followed by Baxter. Earl is obsessed with them, especially Dutchess. He sprints over to her and jumps right on her face, biting her cheek. Nobody in my house is awake yet, so I take all the dogs outside. The large dogs sniff around while Earl attacks every leaf, chases dragonflies, and barks at his reflection in the windows. Earl and Dutchess chase each other through the yard until they find a muddy puddle and begin rolling in it.

Earl attacking Dutchess.

I grab Earl and struggle to carry him to the bathtub. I have mud all over my clothes, and I feel like I’ve gone to war. As I fill the bathtub with water, Earl splashes around and tries to eat the faucet. After the struggle of cleaning and drying him, he’s finally tired. We lay down on the couch and finally get a chance to relax. He smothers me with kisses and has the cutest puppy yawns that I’ve ever heard. As he falls asleep in my lap, he’s so adorable I almost forget how annoying he has been all day. 

Recently, we bought a puppy puzzle from PetSmart that has been a life-saver. I fill the compartments with small treats, and Earl will have to figure out how to get them out. It keeps him entertained for a while and also engages his mind. 

Although having a new puppy is hectic, I don’t regret our decision to get Earl. I have learned about responsibility, how to take care of an animal, and I have a new best friend.

All photos by Allis Derian.