When I first brought Penne home, I briefly thought about giving her up because I was too overwhelmed.

I'd gotten divorced just 2 weeks before and got her impulsively to fill the dog shaped hole in my heart from leaving behind my first love.

I wasn't sure we could do it. She didn't know anything - her name, where to potty, what 'no' meant, and she was terrified of her harness. I wasn't the main caretaker when it came to health for my first dog - my partner at the time got her while we were dating, and took care of her from the beginning. By the time we all lived together, she was 6 and super low maintenance.

Suffice to say, I quickly realized I was truly starting from scratch with Penne. It was scary and overwhelming, and the thought of having to care for her after a major surgery was almost too much to handle.

We took it one step at a time, and we're doing it. She knows basic commands (whether she listens is another thing), is fully potty trained, sleeps for 12 hours at a time if I let her. And now she's on the mend from what I hope will be her biggest surgery ever. I'm so proud of her. She's worked so hard, and is such a sassy, happy little puppy. It hasn't been easy, but y life would be incomplete without her, and I'm ecstatic that we're just getting started.