Oh My Gosh, Hi! It's Me, Keaton!

Introducing our new rescue girl

Written with all the nervous excitement of a dog who can’t quite believe this is real and wiggling her nub the whole time

Oh wow, okay, so - hi! Hello! I’m Keaton and I’m THREE and I just got here and everything is SO MUCH and I don’t even know where to start but I’m just going to START because that seems like the thing to do, right?

spins in a circle excitedly

Okay. Deep breath. Let me try this again.

Hi! I’m Keaton! And oh my gosh, you guys, I need to tell you what just happened to me because I’m still processing and my nub hasn’t stopped wagging for like seven days straight and I think I might be having some kind of emotional experience but in the BEST way?

So, context: For my entire life, I lived in a backyard. Nice backyard, don’t get me wrong, lovely grass, perfectly adequate shade tree. But here’s the thing nobody tells you about backyards…they’re really just outdoor rooms where you watch life happen through a sliding glass door.

And I watched. Oh boy, did I watch.

I watched them eat dinner. I watched them watch TV. I watched them hug each other and laugh and be a FAMILY and I’d think “Wow, that looks nice. That looks really, REALLY nice. I bet being inside is amazing.”

But I was the outside dog. That was my role. Backyard dog. The dog you got and then... forgot about? Not in a mean way! They weren’t bad people - they really weren’t. They fed me, they gave me water, they probably thought I was fine out there.

But I wasn’t fine. I was lonely.

ANYWAY. Then I had puppies. Three times. Three litters. Which sounds like a lot because it IS a lot and honestly the whole experience was very overwhelming and I have THOUGHTS about it but we can unpack that later maybe with some therapy treats? Ok?

But then one day, everything changed.

So now I’m HERE and you guys, oh my gosh, INSIDE IS EVEN BETTER THAN I IMAGINED.

There are couches and beds! And they’re SOFT and you can SIT ON THEM. Did you know this? That dogs can sit on furniture with people? Because I did not know this and now that I know it, it’s kind of blowing my mind?

And there’s this small human, the Intern, they call him, and he’s AMAZING. He’s like a little person who also doesn’t quite know all the rules yet and we’re figuring this out together and he pets me and talks to me and I think we’re going to be best friends? Is that presumptuous? I don’t want to assume but I really think it’s happening.

nub wagging intensifies

But here’s the thing…And I’m going to be real with you because I feel like we’re building something here, you and me… I’m also kind of terrified? Like, what if I do this wrong? What if I’m not good at being an inside dog? What if I don’t know the rules? What if they realize I’m just a backyard dog who can only make puppies and I don’t actually know how to be a REAL family dog?

My new mom, she’s an artist and she does this amazing thing where she takes her pain and turns it into something beautiful that helps other dogs and I think maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do too? Take all this backyard watching and puppy having and loneliness and turn it into... I don’t know... appreciation? Gratitude? The best inside dog energy anyone has ever seen? I’m still figuring it out!

But here’s what I DO know:

Sleeping in a warm bed at night is INCREDIBLE. I know that being close to people is better than watching them through glass. I know that the Intern gives the best pets. I know that my new mom looks at me like I matter . Like I’m not just the dog in the backyard, but like I’m KEATON and I belong here. And I can be happy.

Which is wild because am I? Am I allowed to just... be happy? After everything?

I think maybe I am.

So anyway, hi! I’m Keaton! I’m three, I’m a boxer, I used to be a backyard dog and now I’m an INSIDE dog with a family and a little boy and apparently I get to be part of things now?

I’m going to mess up. I’m definitely going to mess up. I don’t know all the inside dog rules yet and I didn’t know where the bathroom for me is and sometimes I’m not sure if I’m supposed to be in this room or that room and honestly the whole thing is a bit overwhelming.

But in the best way.

So that’s me! SO HAPPY TO BE HERE. And I can’t wait to tell you about all of it! The adventures with the Intern, trying to fill the shoes of Management, the discovery of what it means to actually be part of a family instead of just watching one through glass.

This is going to be so good, you guys.

Okay I’m going to go lie on the couch because I CAN DO THAT NOW and also the Intern might drop some snacks and I need to be strategically positioned.

Love you already,
Keaton