My Dog Infested Life

As a certified dog person I can say, while I love my pups to death, there are just some times I wonder what I was thinking with them.

“Mom, can we please get her?”

“Mom, Dad, can we keep him? Nobody else wants him!”

Well, now I have three dogs and the hair never goes away. I suppose I should introduce my troublemakers.

•       First came Buddy. He is a small Cockapoo that never became more than 22 lbs of spoiled. We got him back in 2008, meant for my brother, but loved the rest of us more. As a puppy he was so sweet. Loved everyone, but now hates every dog. Still loves people, but if either of the other pups look at him wrong, they’re dead. He’s our grumpy man.

•  Next we got Athena. Now she is my dog 100%. I love my parents for dealing with not just me, but my German Shepard who’s just as crazy.  We got her as a puppy in early 2013, with all intention for a mild-mannered girl. That attitude left as fast as her fur sheds. But we love her dearly, and I certainly have nothing to worry about at night with her by my feet.
  
  

• Finally, we got Thor (The God names, I know). The cubby black & white American Pitbull Terrier belonged to my father’s friend up until a year ago, when they moved and left him with us. We meant to foster him, but his intense laziness, licking, and cuddling pushed its way into my older brother’s heart. He became part of the family. After he left last month, Thor cuddled up to me.

Each of these dogs is amazing their own way, and is gold in my life, but how much I wish sometimes that they weren’t so stupid.

For example, most of being a dog owner is 

(a) Pulling things out of their mouth or 

(b) Making sure they won’t die from what they just ate. 

My Shepard has eaten so many things, I’m certain she’s invincible. This dog has eaten a tin of cupcakes, a loaf of bread, a cake, ½ lb. of butter, ten double chocolate cookies with mint chocolate chips, two pork chops, a jar of Vaseline, powdered cement, liquid cement, set cement, easy 4 lbs. of dirt, and the stuffing out of a few stuffed animals. Every time, I’d stare at her and go WHY?

Buddy was more complacent. He loved everyone, and was so fluffy no one could get mad. As we got more dogs, we discovered that he did not like being a sibling. Stomping over puppy Athena, and nipping at her, he gained the nickname “The Grumpy Old Man”. He regretted that once she grew bigger. Now he barks at the two bigger dogs and flees to his room.

Thor was always a gem. A fat gem, but one nonetheless. He loves to cuddle, and though looks vicious outside the door, once in, you can discover he’s a very lovable, licking menace. He gets excited and forgets how big he is, and sometimes ends up tackling people when trying to get some lovin’. He’s a simple dog, not too many stories with him yet, excepting his licking addiction. He once licked my brother’s face all night, and he woke up with a very raw face.

But even with all these quirks, I could never get rid of them. The best part about owning these dogs? The bonds we share, and the happiness we give each other.