Instead of Making Teenagers Take Home Those Creepy Robotic Babies, They Should Just be Given a Baby Basset Hound

Not quite sure what it is about a hound that has turned me into a new mother, but oh it's there. Since being a married adult, Matt and I have helped to raise six dogs and one cat, and yet our newest addition has somehow completely taken over our hearts and lives.

I finally know how the mother of a newborn feels. I'm exhausted and running on fumes. Matt and I have been reduced to taking shifts with Whiskey. I am with her (and Willow of course) all day long until after Midnight when Matt gets home. Then he takes over and I am miraculously given a few hours to sleep. I wake up at 4am when Matt comes to bed, and I try to get Whiskey to get some sleep with me on the couch, if not, I'm up and awake and I won't get another break until noon when Matt wakes up to give me a two hour nap before he has to get ready for work.

Willow is so independent (though still occasionally needy) so I'm able to let her be on her own for most of the day, and only once today was there a bit of sibling rivalry between the two. All my other time is spent trying to convince Whiskey that her crate isn't a scary death trap, trying to figure out if she's really still hungry, or if she's in hound mode (which means she'll eat and eat and eat until she falls over bloated), getting a bath to finally get rid of that farm smell, and of course there's the housebreaking.

I've housebroken dogs before, but today I found myself acting like the mother of a potty training toddler. For the first time since we brought her home, Whiskey properly used the puppy pads in the apartment instead of having an accident on the carpet. So enthused by the experience, I shared a picture with Matt.

And then the second time it happened, I did the same thing.

I've become one of those people.

The majority of my time online today has been on a basset hound parenting forum instead of my usual Facebook, Twitter and blogs.

Owning a basset hound has thus far been one of the most exhausting experiences.

But completely rewarding.