Can I Please Have My Doodles Back Now? Doodle Rehab is not for me!

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Hi, I'm Sherri, and I'm a doodleholic. It's been 5 days since my last doodle kiss.

 

It all started a year ago. I had always enjoyed spending time with dogs as a recreational activity. But then I met a doodle and everything changed. He was so sweet and loveable at first, goofy, fun loving, happy, sloppy, shaggy, and loveable. Did I mention loveable? How could I not get drawn in? His name was Kaz, and I started to spend more and more time with him. His owners warned me about the difficulties, they told me that once I start I won't be able to stop, but it was already too late. I was hooked. A few months later I started looking around for doodles on the internet. It started off innocently enough - a quick Google search here and there. But it was only a matter of a few weeks before it became a constant obsession.

 

I experimented a bit with different breeds. I even visited a Portuguese Water Dog Breeder for a quick fix. But it wasn't the same. That's when I realized there was no going back. That very night I drained my checking account to purchase a doodle puppy and booked a flight to Toronto to pick her up and smuggle her back home to Ottawa in a duffle bag under my seat. (ok, it's not really smuggling if it's allowed but it fits with the story so let's go with it).

 

In the weeks leading up to the pickup date people noticed I had become distant and withdrawn. "I'm busy preparing for my new puppy!!" I would exclaim. They would just shake their heads and look away. I didn't care what they thought. I knew what I was getting into and I couldn't wait.

 

The pickup day arrived and I waited with knots in my stomach, high on anticipation, for the breeder to make the drop. And before I knew it there she was in my arms, tiny, soft, squirmy and full of love. Ahhh--my very first doodle kiss. Well now my addiction was in full swing. I spent every possible moment with my doodle bug. I couldn't stand to be apart from her for more than a few hours before I'd get all jittery and become desperate for another "hit". I started acting all crazy and hysterical, blubbering on about her all the time, making up ridiculous nick names for her, singing made up songs, calling the vet every week for fear there was something wrong. And of course, there in the background fuelling my addiction the whole time, was DoodleKisses.com

 

The last time I tried to leave my doodle I lasted two nights. I wouldn't have lasted five minutes if I had had a choice. I spent two days in boring meetings day dreaming about my doodle, and more than once was caught with a stupid grin on my face as I thought about her goofy antics. It wasn't easy to explain myself but I think I covered it up pretty well. I came racing home at the end of the trip from the airport only to find she wasn't where she was supposed to be. I panicked, I ran around the neighbourhood looking for her, texting my friend (the sitter) frantically with no response. Thoughts of disaster were flooding my panicked head. Then finally, I spotted her. She was playing with a ball in the park with my friend. "She wanted to play" was all she said. I could have killed her for putting in additional 30 minutes between me and my doodle fix. I swore to myself, Never Again! The withdrawal symptoms are just to severe: that empty lost feeling, reaching out for a furry body in the night only to find it's not there, the loss of productivity at my job. Nope, being a doodle addict was far better than being in doodle withdrawal. That's when the addiction went from bad to worse. I went out and got me a second doodle. I came up with a million excuses "he needed to be rescued" or "Sophie needs a play mate". But the truth is, one just wasn't enough. I needed more.

 

So how did I get to be in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with no doodles in site? All I know is I was somehow convinced that this would be good for me. I guess at the time I thought I shouldn't let the doodles come between me and the rest of my life. I've always wanted to come to the East Coast. This training course is a good career opportuntiy. I can't let my doodle addiction hold back my career. And anyway, I needed a break. There, I said it. I needed a break from my doodle responsibilities. Yes, I was convinced that this would be good for me. A healthy break.

 

Here I am on Day 5 of "Death by PowerPoint", otherwise known as "corporate training" in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and I am fantasizing about cutting my trip short. There are no doodles in Halifax and I miss my fur monkeys so much it is ridiculous. I had somehow come up with the genious idea that I could fly back via Toronto on Saturday and see my family and attend a family Christmas gathering on Sunday. That means no doodles until Sunday night. At which time it will be 7 full days since I last hugged a doodle. I just can't stand it. How am I supposed to survive? I need those warm furry bodies to cuddle up with. I need their playful antics. Heck, they can even tear up one of my socks, I really don't care.

 

It was raining in Halifax today, a freezing cold, yucky dark grey drizzly rainy day today. BruceGirl suggested I distract myself with drunken sailors or something like that, but I can't seem to find any. Trust me, I've tried. I've scoured many of the pubs within walking distance to my hotel. No Sailors. No doodles.  It seems to me that Halifax, a quiet coastal town, goes to sleep in the winter and won't wake up until spring. Personally, I think Halifax needs more doodles. Doodles always make it seem like the sun is shining even when it isn't.

Maybe, perhaps, possibly, it was good for me to get away for a short break. But, I can tell you with 100% certainty that this is one addiction I don't plan to shake. I'm as hopeless as can be, a Doodleholic for life!

[Becka]

Hi Sherri! You should be proud of yourself--the first step is admitting you are powerless in the presence of doodles!

[Bryce P]

They eat your socks when your with them, but you can't live without them.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

I wonder if they sell little doodle patches that stick on your upper arm and give you a temporary doodle fix while you're away...

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Very clever and so true!  Every time we go on vacation I have at least one "doodlesick" episode.  My husband thinks I am nuts.  He is with me, sometimes even our grown children are along.  I can get temporary relief from a friendly dog that I can love on.  Once in a small town in the midwest we even borrowed a dog for a day to take with us exploring.  The owner of the B&B recognized a fellow dogaholic the minute we checked in.  DH was doing the paperwork and getting keys and info, I was on the floor with the dog.

 

You can make it, focus on other things.  Chocolate, french fries, potato chips are my favorites.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This is exactly why we have an RV - no doodless trips for us.  At least that is the plan...

[BG and Gavin]

Oh Sherri!  This is heart breaking indeed!  If it makes you feel any better, I was away too in Niagara Falls for three doodleless days and it was grey, rainy and yucky there too.  My cousin is less than an hour from Halifax.  She has a gorgeous standard poodle - not exactly the same as a doodle, but close enough in a pinch.  Give me the word and I will set something up ;)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Not so close, eh : ) This time of year the St. John's in the Virgin Islands sounds more appealing , sorry to say.

[Donna K & Quincy]

Sherri, love the blog it describes me perfectly. Make sure your next training session is in St John's and I can hook you up with a doodle fix.

I like F's suggestion but I'm really not up for a 10 hour drive a 6 hour boat ride and then another couple of hours of driving.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh my, you really do need a 12 step program. Perhaps you could find a meeting to attend in Halifax?

Of course, all of us here on DK must share the blame for your sorry state. We are co-dependents, and we enable you in your doodle addiction. I plead guilty as charged, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Hurry back to your addictions doodles!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great blog. Maybe Donna and you can meet somewhere and you can get a Quincy fix, but what do I know about the geography, they sound close enough to me : )