It doesn't matter how many puppies you've raised. Each time the process starts over with a new one, you realize all over again that you're about to completely lose your mind.

You will become a blathering idiot who pitches their voice too high and asks questions they will never be able to respond to.

Who's a good dog? Oh who's a good dog? Is it you? Yes it is! Yes it is!

You'll become convinced too that no other puppy in the entire world can possibly be as cute as this one. Even when said puppy is chewing on your finger…or tearing your favorite set of headphones apart…this will hold true. Their cuteness is a feature intended to render you incapable of calculating just how much it will cost to replace their destruction.

Instead your voice will adjust to its newly found pitch as you ask them, “Who was a naughty puppy? Was it you? Was it you?”

You'll find too that you return from veterinarian visits overjoyed about details that you are suddenly absolutely sure your friends will care about as much as you do.

Can you believe she gained a whole pound in two weeks?! And she's already losing teeth?

You'll overload their social media feeds with photos of your puppy doing everything it is a puppy does.

Eating. Sleeping. Sitting. Sleeping. Standing. Sleeping.

You'll text them to let them know the puppy figured out how to climb stairs.

You'll text them to let them know the puppy figured out how to go back down the stairs.

You'll make them talk to your puppy on Zoom and pretend the puppy can respond.

You'll take videos and send them to everyone in every way videos can be sent.

Through it all, your friends and family will smile and nod, politely. That they can do most of these interactions via a device these days may make it easier to put up with you.

Or maybe it's just that they know this stage will end and you'll get your mind back, eventually…

But until then, at least the puppy pictures are cute.