On July 13th, my mom, brother, and I traveled to pick up two new additions to our family: Two 8-week old mini schnauzer puppies. While we had seen their photos over texts, nothing could prepare us for how tiny they would actually be. The girl fit right in the palm of my hand and the boy was about the same size.

I had been brainstorming names to give to my little girl pup. I wanted something that could work well in a lot of different aesthetics or vibes and that would be versatile in fitting for her personality. I liked the names Skye, Sienna, and Willow. But as I thought more, the name Tori came to mind. I do not have a specific reason why or a meaning behind choosing her name, but it would suit a rockstar, or a princess if I went the “Victoria” route, and I thought it was a good name to settle on until I met her in person and know for sure.

And I did know. When I first held her I was sure her name would be Tori. She was so adorable and tiny, and she stared up at me and slept on the drive back home. Both puppies were very quick to adapt to their new home, I attribute that to them being together and having a sense of familiarity and comfort.

When we got home I laid on the couch with Tori and she fell asleep right on my chest. she was so tiny, when she would run around on the couch or on my bed she looked like a little bug. We had tried crate training immediately, but with both pups waking up every 2 hours, it was hard.  I think it only lasted a couple weeks before I accidentally fell asleep with Tori in my bed and then I just decided I was over the crate training!

One thing that really surprised me about these puppies was how smart they are. They started learning basic tricks right away, like “sit”, and “spin”. Some days are better than others with the “wait” and “come” command but they will get it eventually. Since this is my first puppy I was not expecting them to start learning so soon, I was very impressed.

Mom and I took our pups on many adventures, including pet friendly stores and the lake. I take her on my weekend trips to see my boyfriend where she met a new dog for the first time. 12 year old Rue the Yorkie was absolutely terrified of 10 week old Tori haha, but she has started to not mind her as much. We even took them on a day trip and they rode around in a stroller in an antique store. They were always troopers at the vet and Tori never cried getting her shots. Tori did have an ear infection around week 12 I think, and she got some medicine for that, and her mood lifted even more.

Her spunky personality started to show. She liked to chase our cats around to try and get them to like her, was vicious with her toys, and started to love belly rubs. A few weeks after her recovery from her ear infection though, Tori started to be lethargic. We took her to the vet and after an x-ray, we were told that she most likely had aspiration pneumonia.

It was very scary for me, because there was a chance that she wouldn’t make it. Her breathing was around 80 breaths a minute, and the safe zone is 40 breaths or less. She didn’t want to move or really do anything, and we were by her side pretty much 24/7. She had a little quarantine area so her brother wouldn’t mess with her while she was recovering. She was on 3 medications, and some days she would have a spark of energy, and the next day she would be back where she started. Each time we went to the emergency vet I thought they would recommend her to be put to sleep but she still had an appetite so our vet was optimistic.

After about 2 weeks of treatment, we decided to stop giving Tori medication, because she started to do better without it. She spent a couple of hours a day in an oxygen chamber we made, and it wasn’t long before she would cry and bark and try to escape. The fact that she was using her lungs was a great sign that she was recovering. We had another x ray and we could actually see Tori’s heart again, the fluid in her lungs was greatly reduced. She started playing again and her personality began to return full force.

Around the time she got sick, we stopped giving her haircuts so she could have as little stress as possible. Her hair is so fluffy now, I love how soft and scruffy she looks. When the mornings are cold, I have been putting both her and her brother in little sweaters and they are adorable as well. Soon she will be dressed up in a sweater and matching Halloween collars with Rue and we will go on a nature walk which I am very excited for.

Tori is feeling good again and so am I. She is so special to me and it will be a great learning experience. I know she will go on many adventures and be the best companion. Do you have any experience raising a puppy? I wish blogs had photo comments so I could see everyone’s furry friends, but please tell me about your pets in the comments I’d love to hear about them.