What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Early dog days now doggone splendid days with Billie and Joel
![Billie and Joel, the border collie pups.](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/B881854314Z/1619702486855_GTF389G2U.1-2.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Well, I’m almost three months into living with my new family.
If you are unaware, early this year I decided to adopt two border collie pups.
In the middle of February, I took delivery of Billie (a blue border collie girl) and Joel (a traditionally black and white male).
Before I even got the brother and sister home, plenty of people were telling me that I would have my work cut out, and I was very keen to prove them wrong.
Despite my best intentions, you could safely say, I really had no idea of what I was in for.
Don’t get me wrong, I would not change anything in the world, if I had the time over again, but, at least, next time, I would know what was in front of me.
The other day, I came across a post that read: My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.
From the moment I picked them up, my new balls of fluff let me know they were going to test this bloke out.
They cried all the way home and once I got them into the house, they widdled on the floor, what seemed like every time I blinked.
And getting a full night’s sleep? Well, now, I appreciate what new parents go through.
It was also a case of watching their every move and wondering if what was going on was normal.
Since those “baptism of fire” days, there has been the crate training and the early morning whining and the issue of what and when to feed them.
Quite honestly, at the start, I found myself totally exhausted.
What the hell did I get myself into? Should I let them cry at night? Maybe they are not well? Should I stay up with them, just in case? They can’t be hungry, I only just fed them.
This, in differing degrees, has been my home life of late — a burden that I really have never had. But I can tell you the flip side is all worth it.
The extra hours I have had to put into these rapidly growing bundles of energy has definitely paid off.
Every morning I get up, I am met with boundless hugs and kisses.
Every evening I come home, I am met with more affection than I can describe.
For some reason, I am the centre of the world for Billie and Joel, and I have to say that they have now become the centre of mine.
The other day, I came across a post that read: “My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am.”
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