Our first year with Jessie

Can you believe that we've had Jessie for a whole year? Although it sometimes feels as if the last twelve months have flown by, I find it quite difficult to remember what life was like without our furry whirlwind.

I thought I'd summarise Jessie's first year with us by talking you through some of her main milestones...

We picked Jessie up from Pembrokeshire on Friday 21st July, 2017. She'd travelled over from Ireland on the ferry with her siblings earlier that day so she was completely exhausted and very confused when we first met her. It took us two hours to get back to Penarth and she slept peacefully nearly all the way home. 

We brought her home and let her explore our kitchen and the garden as she got used to her new surroundings. She was a little apprehensive on her first night with us, but she soon made up for her shyness by being a stereotypically inquisitive and slightly destructive pup. Jessie made herself at home in no time and we were immediately smitten (and very tired). 

In the blink of an eye, Jessie had been with us for a couple of months and had turned six months old. She'd started to calm down a bit by this point, and we were actually able to watch TV for a whole hour at a time without saying 'Jessie, no!' every two minutes. She was also enjoying her walks a lot more at this age and was getting more confident and playful every time she stepped foot (or paw) outside. 

Jessie's next milestone was her first Christmas! She wasn't a big fan of the festive season at first because she wasn't allowed to play with the Christmas tree decorations, but she quickly got into the swing of things. She came along with us to Neil's parents' house on Christmas Day and to my parents' house on Boxing Day, and she absolutely loved being spoilt rotten with all her new toys and treats. 

A couple of weeks after Christmas, Jessie celebrate her nine month birthday and I (again) couldn't believe how quickly the time was going. We were marvelling every day at her increasing fluffiness, and it's fair to say that her little chest was magnificently Corgi-like by the time she reached nine months of age. 

Jessie started her first season at the end of March which meant she unfortunately celebrated her first birthday right in the middle of it. She still had a lovely time and had lots of presents from us and both sets of grandparents, as well as a doggy birthday biscuit from Pets at Home. We'd had Jessie for nearly nine months by this point and I was getting a little more obsessed with her every day. 

And, just like that, Jessie's 'gotcha day' came along last weekend and she's been with us for a whole year. She was spayed the day before her first anniversary with us so we weren't able to celebrate much, but we'll make up for it once she's completely recovered. 

If you'd have told me ten years ago that I'd have my own dog one day and that I'd be celebrating all her milestones with blog posts and puppy cards, I'd have laughed in your face. How times change, eh? I love celebrating all her little milestones and I wouldn't change Jessie for the world. 

Here's to the next 12 months! 

(Yes, Jessie is most definitely the boss of everything.)