Dog Mom Diaries: Forrest, Finn & The Beautiful Chaos

(+ The One Who Started It All)**

I always say my dog-mom era began with Forrest and Finn — the chaotic duo currently running my household — but that isn’t the full story.

It actually started with Gucci.

Gucci was my longhaired chocolate dapple mini dachshund, my first baby, my secret-keeper, my lesson, my comfort, and my constant for 16 and a half years. He came into my life in the most unexpectedly dramatic teenage-girl way possible: I got caught sneaking my (now) husband into the house after school — innocently, but still against The Rules™ — and my mom decided the best way to keep me out of trouble was… to give me a dog.

Spoiler: I did not become a teen mom.

I became a dog mom instead.

And honestly? It changed my entire life.

Gucci and I grew up together.He was there through every version of me — the awkward years, the heartbreak years, the healing years, the becoming years. Even when I eventually built a family with the boy who unintentionally brought Gucci into my life, Gucci stayed my shadow, my little protector, my emotional translator.

On May 10, 2024, I had to say “see you later” and send him over the rainbow bridge. Even typing that still aches. But the love he gave me — the loyalty, the softness, the humor, the companionship — is woven into every part of who I am now.

Especially the dog-mom parts.

So when Forrest came along, and later Finnegan — two chaotic, goofy, loving little boys with entirely too much personality for their sized bodies — a piece of Gucci’s spirit was already there. He’s the foundation. The blueprint. The original chapter.

And trust me: these two? They are NOTHING like their older brother.

Forrest has responsible eldest-child energy. Finn is… well… Finn.

Pure toddler gremlin with a sparkle of mischief and a heart of gold.

Together they create a kind of chaos Gucci would’ve judged from the couch — but also secretly loved.

Dog-mom life now is loud and soft and hilarious and sweet. It’s toys everywhere, nose boops, wrestling matches at 7am, and those quiet moments where one of them curls up on my chest and everything else just melts away.

But underneath all of it — the mess, the magic, the joy — is the love that started it all.A longhaired chocolate dapple named Gucci who showed me what unconditional love feels like… and prepared me for two new little souls who needed me just as much.

This is the beautiful chaos.This is the Dog Mom Diaries.And this is for Gucci — forever my first boy.