There is not just one I in “Aussiedoodle Puppies” but there are two I’s which make a WE! This blog I write every day is told from a first person account of my life with my puppies and my family. The word that is typed quite often is I. There is no denying that I do pour my heart, sweat, and time into these puppies and our family. But I’m not alone. My husband of thirty years, PapaBear, is actively involved in everything puppy related. If he is not here taking them out to go potty or playing with them on the rug, he is out working hard to earn money to pay for all their doctor visits for shots,  the training classes, the necessary puppy equipments, the food and treats, and the growing pile of toys.

He enters the house after work and eagerly steps into the role of AussiedoodleDad. Their tales wiggle wildly and they dance at the gate when they see it’s him. Puppies, like children, learn quickly about daily routines and what to expect from whom. They know that he comes in and will shower them with love all night, take them out for a final time, then put them in their crates for bedtime. I slip out and up to bed earlier so I can be rested for the pre-dawn wake up. The consistent evening ritual is only broken up by business travel that keeps him away, or weekends when we are at the cabin.

Last night was one of those times. The puppies would not settle. Summer continued to yelp from 12:30 until 2:30. Several times I came down to let them out to potty, which neither had to do, then back into the crate. Finally after the 2:30 take-out, not a peep. I fell sound asleep until 9:30 am. The latest in months, 9:30 was not the regular 6:00 or 7:00. I glanced at the clock, smiled and stretched. Downstairs I expected to see PapaBear with them and was ready to thank him for rising early. I found all three of them resting quietly.

In my deep morning slumber I missed hearing the following (according to PapaBear): apparently Koda, not the usual vocal Summer, barked at the door to go out. My husband came down the stairs and over the gate to find Koda sitting by the door waiting. Sitting by the door…not inside his crate. Summer was next to him also eager to go out, also not inside a crate. He let them out. He looked around the kitchen and family room for any evidence of foul play in the hours of their unsupervised freedom from containment, nothing so far. Then went on with the usual routine of post poop playtime, crazy time, breakfast, more poop, more post poop playtime, then finally late morning nap time around 9:00 am. He looked up from his spot on the sofa to see my cheery morning smile. I still had no idea that they’d roamed freely (and quietly) since 2:30 am and that my sweet husband had been up with them since the crack of dawn.

When he told me about them being out of the crates I was shocked. No, I insisted, at 2:30 am I put them inside and closed the latch. At least I thought I did. Do puppies know how to unlatch the door to the crates? In my exhausted stupor did I not properly close the the crate doors? Did I just leave them out intentionally in a sleepwalking state of mind? We laughed. Well, I laughed maybe a little bit more since I was well rested and felt refreshed with the long sleep in. This is not the first morning that he has stepped in to help. He is that kind of parent of our children and of our puppies. I am lucky. Raising two aussidoodle puppies is a team effort. That is only becoming more evident the older and bigger they get. Thank you awesome teammate PapaBear!