Who has four scrumptious tootsies, intoxicating Eau de Puppy and the softest, cuddly fur you have ever felt? Our new puppy Rumi!

We welcomed the sweetest little poop-machine to the family last Saturday. I think he is doing great, and I have stars in, and bags under, each eye.

I am suffering from puppy-love-mush brain. If someone offered my a million dollars to never kiss his furry little mullet head again, my response would be an immediate Pfft. Go find another sucker, sir.

Rumi is a standard poodle and is officially 9 weeks old. Thank goodness he is lovable and patient, as he is dealing with first time fur folks. To illustrate: taught to ring a bell at the back door when he needs to go outside, he humors me by giving it just the slightest, gentlest touch with his nose so that the bell emits a faint ding. He then sits and looks up at me as if to say, “Do I seriously need to do this every time I need to take a crap?” Poor little guy.

As all puppy owners know, puppies take a lot of work. But the cuddle naps and salmon-scented kisses are well worth the trouble.

The Debunking

We had previously cleared a section of land for which a bunkie was planned. Unfortunately, negotiations about the bunkie went south and the plan was scraped. The price was simply too high. Lumber is a precious commodity these days and there are numerous stories of crazy thefts: one poor guy in Kitchener awoke to find some of his fence boards missing, screws meticulously removed so as to not damage the stolen boards.

When Plan A becomes roadblocked, there is no choice but to steer in a new direction. I found a 2-day old ad on Kijiji for a 2006 24 foot Kodiak hybrid trailer. It extends to a whopping 28 feet, complete with kitchen, bathroom, heated mattresses (yes), microwave, stereo, couch…this could be a cozy, permanent home in warmer climates.

The price was good. A third of the price of the proposed 12X16 bunkie

“Hey this looks good”, I said to Dave.

He was mercifully dozing in the recliner and mumbled a sleepy, “That’s great hon.”

Sounds like assent to me.

I called, the owner answered. I liked his straightforward manner, his no-nonsense tone.

He liked that I offered him full asking, sight unseen. My only condition was that he deliver it to the cabin. We do not have the ability to do it ourselves, without the proper hitch and break system on Dave’s truck.

Deal struck, Dave was rudely awoken as I jumped from my resting place and pumped my fist in the air.

“I just bought us a trailer!”, I yelled, “AND he is going to deliver it!”

If you want to give your husband a cardiac jolt, brag about buying a trailer on Kijiji and sending a complete stranger a sizable deposit.

I will fast forward past Dave’s hilarious reaction. Whatever you are imagining is probably spot-on.

Karen and Rumi’s Most Excellent Adventure

Trailer delivery day was Friday. Dave drove up to the cabin site early, as there was prep and work being done by another contractor to accommodate the trailer and widen the driveway.

As I had made all the arrangements with Ron, the seller, that left me in charge of meeting him at a local park ‘n’ ride and escorting him to our property. The cabin is a little out of the way and hauling a 24 foot trailer on washboard-wracked back roads requires help and guidance.

The challenge: Rumi would be coming with me. I had had him less than a week and we were still getting to know each other. He had never been in my car, crated for that length of time. I began to seriously doubt this undertaking. Additionally, I had never met Ron and felt a little foolish being the lead car in my beat-up Hyundai. Operating on less than 4 hours of sleep furthered my anxiety to see this through.

I wore Rumi out in the backyard, packed his go-bag, and enticed him into the crate with snuggle puppy (best investment ever). Off we went.

We arrived at the park ‘n’ ride a bit early. Rumi was shaking and whimpering, and I felt sick to my stomach. What was I doing to this poor little guy? We cuddled in the passenger seat, shared some freeze dried liver treats and went for a little walk. Puppy shakes were quickly replaced with puppy confidence and a nice, long pee.

We had agreed to meet Ron at 10am.

10:05 no show.

10:10 I started to get nervous. I looked at Rumi. He looked up at me through furry eyebrows.

“Puppy, have we been kijiji-ed?”

This was no blender I had bought and paid for. This was a fairly significant purchase. Now I was the one with the shakes on the other end of the leash. Rumi looked quizzically up at me, bent over and licked his privates.

You’re right, Rumi, I thought. Who cares? This is our great adventure. It’ll be what it is meant to be.

At 10:11 my phone dinged with the following text: Stopping for coffee. Want one?

My body relaxed. I scooped up Rumi, snuggled him into the chest and planted 1000 kisses on the top of his head. We rested in the sun and enjoyed the cool breeze on our faces. I smiled. The bags under my eyes causing me to squint more than usual. Order and trust had been restored in the Universe.

Moments later, Ron arrived. He got out of his pickup with a tray of Tim Horton’s.

“I brought extra as I didn’t know who you were traveling with”, he said with a wide grin.

Rumi, Ron and I hit the open road. Rumi slept the whole way to the cabin. Even the gravel, pot-holed roads couldn’t stir his resting body and spirit. I glanced every so often into the rearview mirror to ensure Ron was behind. He’d give me the odd thumbs up and my shoulders would relax back into place.

Mercifully we were not stopped by Quebec police at the usual checkpoints; as Dave had the cabin ownership paperwork with him, I would have been forced to use Rumi’s charm and some sad cabin photos to ensure we could continue on our way.

We sailed smoothly over the bumps and dips all the way to the cabin. Dave was decked out in his finest bug gear awaiting our arrival at the end of the driveway. Ron maneuvered the trailer into place, stayed an extra hour to explain the finer details of trailer operation then wished us well with a final: “I want first dibs if you sell ‘er in the future”, and drove away.

The trailer has been Rumi approved. He staked and marked his territory on the property, chewed on a few overturned tree roots and then went down for another long, deep sleep.

It was a very, good day.