A new member of the family arrived in our household a little over a week ago. He has completely upended our idyllic life. His name is Rocco and this little puppy has cuddled his way into everyone’s hearts.

For as long as I’ve known her, my step-daughter has wanted a dog. Unfortunately, it was not possible in the rental properties we were all living in at the time. With the move now complete to the club of proud owners of our own home, the next logical step was finding the perfect opportunity to give her the dog she has desired. Her birthday in July made the most sense and after navigating the web, an appropriate breeder was found within a day’s drive and she picked him out immediately.

Rocco is a combination of the Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise dog breeds and is commonly referred to as a teddy bear (or Shichon or Zuchon). He’s quite affectionate and loves getting his belly rubbed. As of this writing, he’s nine weeks old and teething like crazy so he’s constantly gnawing on his chew toys.

He’s just the cutest puppy ever.

Everybody else in the house has owned a pet of some kind before. Me… not so much. No dog, cat, hampster, beta fish, etc. My neighbors around the house I grew up in all had little dogs. My uncle had a large black labrador named Star. My other uncle had a small little dog named Sammy. Lastly, my brother’s family had a dog for a long time with Ozzie just recently passing away after living a long, great life.

I’ve never had a dog.

Of course, technically the dog is my step-daughter’s 100%. She’s the one taking care of the dog nine times out of ten. Still, Roccco is dominating our household. For the better, I might add.

I thought buying a house was going to be the biggest adjustment I was going to face this year, but I think living with Rocco is taking the cake. I never knew how much fun it would be to have this dog chasing after chew toys, rolling over for belly rubs and watching him learn his name and get acclimated to his new surroundings. After these first few days, this pup has done nothing but put a smile on my face and everyone else’s face for that matter.

A welcome addition.