Let's mix some blogs together...

Hey SUCCA’s! Thank you for tuning into this week’s blog! If you haven’t read any of my group’s blogs about succulents yet, make sure to take a look at all of our wonderful succulent content that gets posted weekly! Although it’s blogs about plants, we give it our all to make it as interesting as possible for our readers. If you want to put it in other words… I’d say our blogs are pretty PLANTastic! To find all our content, just make sure to click on this link: https://aguidetosucculents.wixsite.com/website.

So, if you have been keeping up with my blog posts lately, we are going to put a little bit of a spin on it this week. This week’s blog will be sort of be a fun extension from my previous blogs of ‘Succulent vs. Puppy’ and ‘Do you have what it takes to own a succulent?’. In one of my very first blogs, I helped you readers make the choice on whether to buy a succulent or a puppy. In doing so, I shared my conversations with a dog owner and with a succulent owner, and the extremely different responses made it pretty clear to see that whatever choice you end up making, a succulent or a puppy, it will drastically change your life forever.

My other blog was to help you truly understand yourself as a person and to then relate your answers to if you are hypothetically fit to be a successful owner of a succulent. I also then mentioned my stance on if I believed I was fit to own a succulent. As my final answer, I decided that I am not the ideal person to become a succulent owner. I then clearly stated that I lack passion of caring for a plant, how I would continuously forget to water it, and it would be nothing but an object in a windowsill. In other words, I would have very little dedication and affection to a plant, in this case, a succulent.

Now that you have a quick overview of what was discussed in those blogs, you may be wondering, how exactly will this blog be a mixture of the two? Well, if you SUCCA’s haven’t already guessed it, or seen it on my social media accounts, I am now a proud PUPPY OWNER!!! WHOO-HOO!!! I HAVE BEEN WAITING ALL SEMESTER FOR THIS MOMENT. Now, many of you may be like, “Courtney, how the hell can you own a puppy if you can’t even take care of a plant?” Well SUCCAs, it’s all about the passion. The point of this blog is to not only expand the ‘Puppy vs. Succulent’ blog, but to also explain how the blog ‘Do you have what it takes to own a succulent’ can apply to a variety of things, rather than just a plant. I want to open the minds of the SUCCAs who chose the puppy route on my last blog. I want you to show the reality of what it’s like to own a puppy, and by doing that I will share some my personal experiences of the first week with my goldendoodle pup. Who knows, maybe you’re still set on buying that precious little puppy of yours, but maybe a succulent may in fact be your best choice. Like I mentioned before, it all depends on your personality, time management, passions, and priorities.

Introducing… Zola Bacon Berger!

On October 11th, 2019 I made a life-changing decision to buy myself a goldendoodle puppy. First name Zola (short for gorgonzola, like the cheese! My dog at home’s name is Cheddar, so I thought keeping the cheese theme was a good idea), middle name Bacon, last name Berger (my last name). She is an 11 week old puppy and is extremely photogenic! Right below this I will share some of my favorite pictures I’ve taken of her thus far.

A lot of this post will contrast the main differences between owning a puppy or owning a succulent. Let’s jump right in!

Entertainment

When you are a dog owner, you have to give your dog an incredible amount of your attention. You have to be passionate and love the animal like it’s your child! Since Zola is still a very young puppy, she will bite anything that’s in sight. That’s right, anything. Zola has tried biting at computer chargers, phone chargers, chairs, tables, the carpet, white converse, my dresser handles, and basically anything that lies within my room. You have to take the time to puppy proof your room or else your pup could either eat something they shouldn’t, chew on electrical wires, get severely hurt, or break your grandmother’s china plates. Since their curiosity level is at an all time high when they are wide awake, your best bet is to play with your dog with their favorite toy until they get worn out. I do that with Zola and then she takes about an hour nap, it’s nice to have a little break once in a while.

When you are a plant owner, you don’t have to entertain it at all! You can just prop it up in your window sill, make sure it gets some water, and then you can just call it a day. However, this would be less entertaining for you. In fact, probably not entertaining whatsoever. For instance, your plants won’t jump up and down, it won’t playfully bite you and lick your face, and it’s physically impossible for it to have that cute little puppy bark. So, if you are looking for a calm laid back environment with no worries, a plant is definitely the way to go. But, if you prefer a little sparkle in your life and don’t mind having a dog as a best friend, it’s still looking like the puppy route is the best way to go.

Expenses

Money plays a huge role in deciding to buy a succulent or a puppy. Think of all of the expenses that come with caring for a dog.

Here are some of the things that I have bought this week:

- Zola

- Puppy food/Treats

- Variety of toys

- Brush

- Shampoo/Conditioner

- Collar/harness

- Crate

- Dog bed

- Vet visit

Now all of that combined is worth a VERY pretty penny. Beautiful even. You have to realize how much time and money is actually going into this furry companion. You need to ask yourself if you are willing to spend x amount of money on a dog. You have to realize that vet visits, vaccinations, food, and treats are not a one time thing. They will be continuous needs that need to be fulfilled their entire life.

If you were to buy a succulent, you would need to buy a pot (if it doesn’t already come with one) and have access to water and sunlight. The expense associated with buying a succulent is significantly less than if you were to purchase a puppy. Again, it’s about how much time, effort, love, and money you are willing to give towards your pup or your plant. Are you willing to be a mother/father to an animal that needs you around most of the time? Or would you rather buy a plant, maybe decorate the pot, and then be done with it? Well, that’s entirely up to you.

Responsibility

Let me just start off by saying, in order to be a successful dog owner, you MUST be a responsible human being. You should know that you have to meet your needs AND your puppy’s needs. It’s not just yourself that you’re responsible for. It’s you and your puppy. Taking care of Zola is a lot of responsibility. I give her food and water every morning and evening, I take her on potty breaks about every two hours, I make sure that she’s loved, and I have training sessions with her! As a college student, I have multiple responsibilities even without putting Zola into the picture. Now that Zola is in my life, I have to really make sure to prioritize my homework and other educational needs even more than what I had before. Thank goodness I have around 20 puppysitters though!

When buying a succulent, the responsibilities are self explanatory. You have to water it, give it the right amount of sunlight, and then repeat it as often as needed. A succulent owner will have a lot less responsibilities in comparison to a puppy owner. Are you willing to form your life around your puppy’s schedule? Will you be overwhelmed with the list of new responsibilities handed to you? Like I keep saying, it’s completely up to you. The main thing is that you have to look at your schedule and what point in life you are at. Will having a puppy be an inconvenience? Will you be more reliant on other people caring for it? Or, do you think you’re ready?

Cuteness

So far I’ve highlighted two of the main differences between purchasing a succulent or a puppy. In this section of the blog, I will be discussing one of the biggest factors that goes into making the ultimate decision. The amount of cuteness. As you may know, I purchased a goldendoodle and she is absolutely adorable. She trots sometimes when she’s happy, she falls asleep in your arms, her puppy bark is so innocent, and she loves to be around people. Any time Zola and I go on walks, we get stopped every minute so they can pet her. She’s the definition of cuteness overload in my opinion!

What happens if you bring your succulent for a walk around campus? I can assure you that no one will stop you and ask if they can pet your plant. People may automatically think that it’s for your biology class instead of seeing it as an adorable companion. A plant will not give you puppy eyes or make you a chick magnet. You hear that fellas? A puppy makes a perfect wingman! No one can turn down a cute puppy. So, if you are lonely and are wanting more than just a dog as your best friend, take your dog on daily walks, you and your new puppy might just find the love of your life.

So I’m going to ask you again… Succulent or a Puppy?

Hopefully throughout this reading you started to take a deeper look into the pros and cons of having a puppy. The key takeaways from today’s blog is that they take a lot of your time, get yourself a cute puppy, you’re spending hundreds to thousands of dollars, and it’s a responsibility that only certain people can handle. But at the end of the day the question is: Is it all worth it to you?

Some of you may be wondering, “Courtney, do you regret buying a puppy? Do you wish you would have gotten a succulent?” The answer is, no. Not one ounce of me regrets bringing Zola into my life. She makes everyday more interesting than the last and she keeps me on top of my game. I love coming home and witnessing her tail wag back and forth to the point where it’s moving so fast that you can hardly see it. I enjoy teaching her tricks and raising her like she’s my child. That’s what having a puppy is all about isn’t it?

I know in my heart that I will continue to give this dog my all each and everyday. When it came to owning a succulent, I knew that I wouldn’t build a connection like I have with Zola. Which is obvious of course, but if I want to be held accountable for something, I want it to bring a little fun and new adventures in my life. Personally, a plant cannot meet those needs for me, and everyone has different wants and needs in their life! So it’s your time to decide if you want a succulent or a puppy! I admit, Zola is definitely a handful at times, but at the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way. So, I’m still on team puppy… how about you?