A Bloggie for My Doggie(s)

Today I am writing in honor of the 3rd and 4th members of our family, Bosco and Lucy. Today I read a friend's blog post about having to put down the dog she and her husband got as a newborn and had had for 11 years. The dog had an emergency medical problem and he was fine in the morning but by the afternoon they were having to make the hard decision to spend thousands of dollars on surgery with no guarantee of recovery or put him to sleep. They chose to put him to sleep and as I read her sweet words and memories about their four legged family member, I hate to admit it, but I shed a tear or two. It just really got me thinking about the inevitable, that one day, my sweet puppies will no longer be with me. It's the sad truth behind pet ownership that no one likes to talk about, but it is extremely likely that you will outlive your pets (and not just one pet, but probably multiple cycles of pets in a lifetime).


If you ask our friend Derek, we spend way too much time and energy on our dogs (which is most likely true). When thinking about going on vacation or discuss our hectic schedules for the week, we always have the "who's going to take care of the dogs?" conversation. Yes, we give them way more attention and loving than they need but at the end of the day they are a responsibility and they have to get fed and cared for even without our constant coddling. 
But what Derek and others don't understand is that most of the time it's really not a hassle for me because I love them like family members. They are included in our occasional date nights at home (NBC Thursday Night Lineup, takeout, and a two person/two dog pileup on the couch), we love taking them on day trips to see family or go to the river/park/hiking trails, and they definitely have distinct personalities that keep G and I laughing constantly at their interaction together. I know my dogs likes/dislikes better than most of my friends (Bosco hates broccoli but loves bananas, Lucy will eat literally anything-including rocks, her own fur balls on the floor, and dead bugs), and they can tell by the tone of my voice what I want them to be doing (or stop doing on most occasions). And the best part is, they listen.
I think most importantly (and this is literally about as sappy as it gets, so don't read on unless you're ready to be taken into Lifetime Movie Script), they unconditionally believe the best of me. I can yell at them for eating my shoe, forget to walk them, or banish them to the backyard when they are annoying me, but each morning I will still be greeted with Lucy putting her front paws up on the side of the bed and licking my arm "good morning," and Bosco will still lay at my feet while I brush my teeth just to be close to me. 
They are refreshing friendships in which I never have to worry about them holding a grudge, or telling them they don't look fat, or make up small talk if there's an awkward lull in conversation. They never care if I'm not wearing makeup, or if I don't feel like pretending I'm happy when I'm not, or if I watch completely vapid TV shows like Real Housewives (this is one of their favorite to nap during). 
We have inside jokes (if Lucy is hiding under a bed I start singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and she always comes running) and silly bits (I have gotten Bosco's "Diva" and "Bang Bang Play Dead" trick down pat) and I know they will always be a source of comfort and cuddling and non-judgement in even the worst of moments. I can't tell you the number of times I've come home from a hard day at work or after a silly fight with the Hubby and they just crawl up on the bed beside me and lay their heads on my leg/lap/chest and look up at me. It's that quiet, that easiness of just laying there and soaking in their adoration that lightens the moment and makes it seem like maybe it will be okay after all.

So here's to you, Bosco, who thinks he is a guard dog but instead of attacking only licks your arm and tries to play, and Lucy, who we like to think is half pug half pig and sometimes looks like a bat when she is really tired. You are the best doggies in the whole world and I don't care what anyone says, until we have children you will be spoiled like children!

Lucille II

I just realized that I never published this post about welcoming Lucy into our home! How did I miss that?


Garland and I have never been the type to avoid change, in fact, we get antsy if we are not undertaking a new project at all times. First it was getting engaged, then buying a house, then getting married, then renovating the house. So when our painting and moving and marrying slowed down a month after our wedding, we knew we were ready to take on a pet. That's where Bosco came into the picture, and he kept us busy for quite some time. In the next year and a half I entered and completed my Masters program, we finished renovating our first home and started talking about shopping for a new one, started the discussion about having kids one day, and decided that our dear, sweet Bosco needed a play mate.


Garland was way more into it at first, I was nervous about having another living thing to be responsible for, feed, take to the vet, walk, etc. I resisted even going to the shelter when he suggested it because I knew I'd fall in love. I finally conceded to going to the shelter (I was really excited deep down), but I had a list of requirements and I wasn't coming home with any dog that didn't meet them.
1) Female
2) Small but not too small (15-25)
3) Not yippy (I hate small, yippy dogs)
4) Not a major shedder
5) no puppies, must be 2-4 years old 
6) Not super hyper
7) Not a barker


As you can imagine, not many dogs met my strict standards. On our third visit we finally found the perfect dog, a 2 year old female pug that was sweet as could be. We signed all the papers and named her Lucille and planned to pick her up the next morning after she got her shots. That night I was so excited I made G take me to buy a new food bowl, water bowl, leash, collar, and dog pillow (all in girly colors, of course). When we went to pick her up the next morning (new purple collar and leash in hand) they gave us the bad news that they had accidentally overbooked and promised the dog to someone else the day before we found her. I was devastated. I had already sent pictures to all my friends telling them about our newest addition. As a consolation, they told us that Lucille had given birth to 6 puppies who were available for adoption. After a short conversation about if we would even consider a puppy (I really did not want to do the whole potty training, chewing, following commands thing all over again) we decided we should at least go look.
I fell in love with Lucille II from the moments she curled up against Garland's chest and just laid there in the nook of his arm. Something maternal kicked into gear and I wanted to take care of that puppy and give her a home. Garland saw the look in my eye and knew right away that he was in trouble and so he went to the Shelter man and told him we'd take her. 
Bosco was so intrigued with her right from the beginning but he was also gentle. It was like he knew she was a baby and a lot smaller than him so even when she would bite at his tail or jump on him he would just barely nudge her back. They are, without a doubt, the best of friends. Lucy wants to be just like Bosco. If you look out our window when they're in the back yard you will always see her following her big brother around, sniffing and barking just like he does (even when she doesn't know what he's sniffing or who he's barking at). And Bosco, in turn, is extremely protective over Lucy. The first time I vacuumed after Lucy moved in she tried to walk up and bark and the vacuum like it was an adversary and Bosco (who is scared of the vacuum) jumped of the couch and nudged her away from the vacuum and into the kitchen as if to say, "don't you know that thing will get you?!"


Here are some of my favorite things about Lucy:
-She is only part pug, so she has the pug body and coloring and curly tail, but she has a snout and her eyes don't bug out. She is also leaner and has longer legs than a pug. She's adorable!
-She sometimes growls at her own tail when she chases it.
-Her default position is sitting, so I will turn around and she will be sitting in a recliner, on the coffee table, fireplace, arm of the couch, etc.
-She makes a wide variety of really weird noises.
-She eats SO MUCH. We often joke that she is half pug half pig.
-When she gets really excited she starts hopping on two legs and looks kind of like a rabbit.
-She constantly crawls under beds and furniture when I enter a room. I'll close it when I leave and then start looking for Lucy after 5 minutes and open the door again and she is patiently sitting on the other side waiting to be let out.

Bosco

Garland and I are not known for being super patient people when it comes to starting something new... So it wasn't a surprise that we opted to get a puppy less than a month after getting married and moving into our first home. We found an absolutely precious puppy at the Fayetteville Animal Shelter that we just couldn't stop thinking about, so we took him home! The shelter and vet guessed that he was a mixture of shepard, rottweiler, and possibly black lab. We named him Bosco, after George Costanza's ATM password (his favorite brand of chocolate syrup when he was growing up).

Here are some pictures of Bosco taken by Brooke Robinson when he went over for a play date with the Robinsons so I could buy groceries!

He was so tiny... He weighed 7 pounds when we took him home.

He is such a good dog! We love him very, very much :)

His favorite toy (before he chewed it up): A mini Bosco!

He loves swimming at the Buffalo!