Meet Cousteau
Raising this wonderful beast takes tons of energy
About six months ago I became an official empty nester. My youngest got on a bus bound for Parris Island, South Carolina, to begin Marine Corps Basic Training. I resolved to get a sports car and a puppy. Two months after he left I found the car (a 2006 BMW M3 convertible). Love it!
Then I began researching about dogs. We’ve had two dogs for ten and eleven years, but one went to live with my oldest son 150 miles away. She was always basically his dog. Every dog I’ve had since as an adult has come from the local Humane Society. All were mixed breeds and were great companions with one exception, but that’s another story.
After considerable research I landed on getting a Labradoodle. I loved the breeder’s philosophy and they were only an hour away. He was 14 weeks old when I got him and we stayed in a cabin down on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee for a few days.
I named him Cousteau after Jacques Cousteau, the French explorer, conservationist, author and filmmaker. We had a blast hiking and exploring and turns out he loves the water. Below we are at Cummin’s Falls and had to cross the creek twice to get here.
Why am I sharing this story here on Medium you might wonder. Well, taking on a pup requires tremendous amount of time and energy. I’ve enjoyed it, but Cousteau’s needs have eaten into my writing time. So as a result I’ve written a lot less than I normally do. That’s a temporary situation and a small price to pay for this companion with such a loving and comical personality. He is a blessing to me and others every day!
He’s by my side now, napping, as I write after our play time this morning. His favorite thing is getting a sock out of the clothes basket and at five and a half months he weighs 52 lbs. At times it looks like we have a toddler living in the house again.
But Cousteau is a dude and my emotional support companion. He also will be used in my work as a therapist to help clients heal from trauma. We begin training on that in February. In the spirit of his namesake I look forward to many adventures together!
Paul S Markle 2022
