Heather Laughlan, a mother of 3 from Illinois, was recently left with a disappointed family when she was unable to obtain a new puppy due to laws that protect animals from being separated from their mothers too soon after their birth.
Laughlan, who recently gave birth to her own little pup, had thought that getting a new dog for the family would be the perfect thing to distract the 2 older kids from the fact that her attention would be further divided with the arrival of the new baby and her almost immediate return to work to follow.
She found a beautiful golden retriever that was set to give birth around the same time as she was and was pumped to have a new puppy join the family.
Laughlan, who is a teacher, was required to go back to work 6 weeks after the birth of her little one, despite the fact that her lady garden had just barely recovered from the last human harvest.
Luckily, there are more than enough utility closets for her to pump milk in and ample craft supplies should her breasts start leaking unexpectedly.
On the Wednesday after Laughlan returned to work, she stopped by to visit Lucy, the dog who had just had her litter, and hoped to bring one of the little guys home with her, along with all her school supplies and 8.5 oz of janitor closet mammary moonshine for her own precious bundle.
However, much to her dismay, she was not allowed to take the puppy home because it was simply “too soon” to separate it from its mother.
“Apparently I have to wait until the puppy is 8 weeks old before it can be separated from its mother,” she said, rubbing her sleep-deprived eyes.
“So in 2 weeks I can go get him and surprise my kids after I pick them all up from their respective daycares.”
“Actually, wait-” Laughlan pursed her lips. “I think I actually have a postpartum checkup that day. Maybe I’ll swing by the next day after I’m done having my ‘after daycare drop-off cry’ in my car.”
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About the Author
Mandi Em is the content creator for Healthy Living for Hot Messes, a healthy-ish humor and adulting blog. Mandi can usually be found whining about her kids on Twitter and posting pictures of her food and nonsense on Instagram, and Facebook.