I plan to get my RE License as well because this is a direction I want to go down for a career. 

Denver is a strong market with solid appreciation and plenty of opportunities, especially for strategies like house hacking and the BRRRR method.Your plan to start with FHA and house hacking is a great way to get your feet wet.

What do you plan on doing with the puppies (once they are old enough to rehome-ie 6-8 weeks old)? 

A living trust I recommend for estate planning - that is all it does.

Sometimes the tenants plan on paying a month's rent at two places to allow a less-hectic move. 

It's really impossible to give you a direct answer on your question without knowing a lot more about your plans. 

Or do you plan on giving them the $1,500?  

We plan to keep this property long-term as part of our portfolio and look for additional investing opportunities in the future.

Unfortunately I had a bad inspector who missed a lot which made it about a $60K renovation instead of what I planned for which was $15K.

You have to ask yourself what the end goal and how many of these do you plan on doing to reach that goal.