Nelly…

I feel like a new mom with a newborn baby. Lol. Tired, a disheveled mess, and in need of a shower. The only different thing I can have a glass of wine at the end of the night, and I don’t have a baby monitor in my pocket. 

Nelly is precisely what Jacob, our breeder said she was. She is playful, but when I want to rest with her, I scoop her up and hold her on my lap, and she falls asleep or sits perfectly still. 

When she is in a playful mood, she’s hell on wheels. Klaus didn’t know what to think of her. He has growled occasionally but wears a collar that beeps or vibrates, stopping him in his tracks. 

Klaus had fun with her today and didn’t growl even when she went into his toy basket. She tired them both out after Marty got home from the farmers market when Klaus usually wanted Marty to play with him.

He was smiling and wagging his tail. He is still trying to figure her out, but I think he likes her. They will need constant supervision for quite a while, but it’s fun to see her run like crazy, and he follows her.

I read a lot about Frenchies, training them, their daily grooming, and other important information. Frenchies love to be clean and have a hard time, especially girls, cleaning themselves in those hard-to-reach areas. 

We start our grooming routine every morning after breakfast and going out. She jumps in my lap as soon as she sees me get out of her grooming basket. 

I use an unscented baby wipe and start with her wrinkles. It’s essential to keep them clean, or they will get infected. Klaus refuses to let us go near his wrinkles and has had issues with allergies and infections.

People have pointed out there are special cleaners for her tears. Thank you for the advice, but those are her coloring markings.

Next, I clean her ears and body. I clean her butt, under her tail, and, finally, her itty bitty girlie parts. She loves to be brushed and have her nails clipped. We finish by brushing her teeth. It takes 5 minutes, ten if I do her nails. 

I can do anything to her as I did with my Barbies and baby dolls growing up. I played with dolls and Barbies until I was 12; poor kids these days grow up too quickly. 

Our boys played with matchbox cars and Play-mobile for a long time. I’m so glad they grew up before social media and Xbox.

Nelly is 80% housebroken; she had an accident because I wasn’t watching her for signs she needed to go out. She gets it, and we are trying to keep a schedule as to when she needs to go out.

She’s been getting up at 3 am to go out, which we do, then immediately return to bed. I’ve been in bed by 8:30-9:00 every night and fall right to sleep—no insomnia issues, which is a dream in itself. 

Learning from previous mistakes, Marty didn’t touch or hold Nelly the first day but did up in her room upstairs when Klaus was in bed downstairs. 

Klaus listens to Marty and accepts him as the alpha, so he is fine when he picked up Nelly to go outside with them. She loves to play outside with Klausie.

Nelly looks into my eyes, snuggles up to me, and breathes a breath of contentment. She doesn’t know it yet, but I am the one content. 

It gets easier every day; Klaus and Nelly will become friends; we can tell that already. He’s much more tolerable than we imagined with a new puppy. 

My ESA letter is ready for me to pick up. An ESA is entirely different than a service animal. Federal law allows service animals everywhere; ESAs had many of those rights removed in 2021 due to fraudulent ID cards & phony certifications.

Many people were scammed with sites promising access anywhere or purchased an ESA vest online and put it on their pets, demanding to take them everywhere. People abused it and ruined it for people that needed it.

I plan to carry Nelly’s letter and her small metal to wear on her harness, but if she is denied access to places, I can’t bring her in. The last thing I need is situations to cause me anxiety defeating the point of an ESA in the first place.

Many stores and restaurants are pet friendly, and we shop at them anyway. Most restaurants with outdoor seating allow pets; we will frequent those places when we are out on delivery days.

Nelly is already an ESA for me. Her love fills that empty hole in my heart and makes me laugh. She gives me something to take my mind off my worries, fears, doubts, anxiety, and depression.

Nelly is the perfect dog for me; Jon Katz was right when he talked about his dog Zinnia. They find their way to you if you take the time to find them. 

Thanks, Jon! 🙂