A Very Beanie Birthday

Mom and Me - Dog Selfies

In place of today's normal-ish activities, I wanted to share something a little different. Yesterday was not only the celebration of mom's everywhere, it was the birthday of my baby bean, Samson. Well, kind of. We don't know his real birthday exactly, but this was the day I found this tiny little adorable bundle and took him home to be my baby.

It's hard to believe twelve years have come and gone.

When I first moved to Phoenix, I lived alone, except for a couple of fish that weren't the best company. I grew up always having animals with me, so when I got lonely I'd go to the mall near my house, where I would visit the pet store and all of the little critters. One of them, a golden doxie pup, soon became my favorite, and I would spend countless hours watching him roll around and play.

I lived in an apartment at the time, which I knew was no home for a puppy. This desire all by itself is what drove me to find and buy a house when I was 19, a thought that hadn't even crossed my mind until one day at the pet store when I couldn't stand to live another second without a dog. Motivation comes in all forms - mine just happened to be furry and four legged.

Growing up, we'd always adopted rescues or strays, which I still think is the way to go. Once I had my house, I went out on a mission to find my furry kid. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find a single dachshund until I came across an ad in the paper on Mother's Day for "a good home to chocolate doxie pups", which is where I found my Samson.

He was the runt of the pack, weighing a pound at the most, and had a couple of bug bites on his little head. He was all belly with four teeny, tiny legs jutting out. He was sweet and awkward and a little clumsy. He was curious and silly and wanted nothing more than to be loved.

His owner was worried no one would take him because he was obviously so much smaller and weaker than the other puppies. His owner didn't need to worry; I knew the moment I saw him he was my baby.

At first, he slept in my shoe box next to me in the bed. He was so tiny that the box was a mansion compared to him. He was a hilarious little ball of puppy, running and playing so hard he'd crash mid-run and fall asleep right where he landed.

Twelve years...

It seems like hardly any time has passed.

My little bean, my little man. Mommy loves you so, so much.

My Little Man

You chewed my carpet,

You pulled it to shreds,

You pooped on it, peed on it,

Did it again.

You chewed on the table,

You chewed on the desk,

I’d come home from work

To another new mess.

Nose prints on my windows,

Trash pulled on the floor,

My new remote chewed up,

All this and much more.

But it’s all been worth it,

For each little bark

And each little kiss

After work has been hard.

With all of your cuddling

And all of your love,

There’s nothing as wonderful

As your puppy love.

If you want to see more pictures of my silly little bean, and his big brother (that he's less in denial of lately), Rocco, you can follow me on Instagram.