Welcome to the Family

Two years ago this January, our dog Millie died. Since then I haven't really considered getting a new dog. Milie had been a member of our family for 13 years and it was to hard to think about having another dog.

http://mountairyjournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/millie.html

In November, a friend from High School had a picture on Facebook of a dog posted by the ASPCA in Bedford. When I clicked on the picture, a collection of pictures of a lot of dogs came up. The ASPCA had gone to the Bedford Animal Shelter and taken pictures of all the dogs there, in the hopes that someone would adopt. As I was going through the photos I spotted 2 dachshunds in a pen. I didn't think or hesitate, I called right away and I kept calling for 5 days, until I got an answer. When I finally got through, I was told that the female had already been adopted, but the male was still available. I told them that I would be there the next morning.

When they brought Tiger out, he wouldn't even look at me. If I tried to reach out to touch him, he drew away, hiding behind the leg of the girl who brought him out. They suggested that I take him out for a little walk. Even then he wanted very little to do with me and contined to draw away. Things were not going well for the relationship. But when I went back inside and they asked me what I thought, I said, "I think we're going home now".

It took us a couple of days to connect, but we finally did. For Joanne it took a few more days. I had to leave for a weekend class and while I was gone, Tiger was not very receptive. Actually, according to Joanne, he would go to the other end of the sofa and curl up with his back to her, ignoring her. But that night they bonded when he curled up next to Joanne in bed under the covers and slept.

In December we got a call from the family that had adopted the other dachshund. They were not siblings, not from the same litter, but they were a bonded pair. They asked if we were still interested in having them both. Again, without hesitation, my answer was "Yes!". When we went to pick her up, we were surprised to find that she was half his size. Tiger was 12 pounds, while Princess was a diminutive 7 pounds. (Our vet thinks that she'll stay about that size.) We were told that she was very sedate, all she did was lay around sleeping and want to be cuddled and that was exactly what she did all the way home in Joanne's lap.

When we got Princess home, we brought her in the house and brought out Tiger. They looked at each other and went nose to nose. After a few more strategically placed sniffs all pandemonium broke out. They were jumping all over each other and chasing each other all around the house. She hadn't been sedate, she was depressed. When we took them both out on the leash, they walked side by side, when Tiger turned Princess turned right along with him. Once they got back inside, they both curled up in the armchair and went to sleep. Together again, all is right with the world.

We have had a few people who have questioned our sanity at acquiring two dogs. But, its been about a month now and I can't imagine not having them both. They still romp and chase each other. They have this wrestle/fighting they do, biting each other, chewing on each others legs and ears, all the while growling ferociously with teeth bared. Every once in awhile Princess will yelp because Tiger hurt her, kind of big brother-little sister rough play. At first we thought that Tiger was picking on Princess. When we watched more closely, she is the instigator most of the time and when she yelps he'll stop, but she prods him to start up again.


 Joanne had mentioned that she was thinking about getting me a dog for Christmas. We decided that we weren't really ready for another dog. Then a friend posts a random picture of an ASPCA dog and I find Tiger and Princess. We get one and then the other. I got my Christmas present(s).

It doesn't get much better than this!

Millie

Last Tuesday Joanne and I lost one of our best friends. She had brought calm into our lives at the loss of family and after surgeries. She was our stress reducer after work. Millie was our dog-child for 13 years. We inherited her from Courtney and Dave when they left for Haiti as missionaries. We got her when she was about a year old. She would have been 14 years old in February. It has taken me a week to sit down and say this good-bye. There is so much I want to say, but I find I can't put it into coherent words. 

Millie always liked babies. She would sniff them and lick the hands. Once they got old enough to pester her it was a different relationship.

Millie always hated the snow. I would have to go out and shovel a clear space in the grass for her. Usually, if I opened the door and she saw the snow, she would simply turn around and go back up the stairs to the livingroom. She would do the same thing if it was raining. Millie was definitely a fair weather dog.

Millie had away of looking into your eyes and knowing if something was bothering you. She seemed to sense if you were upset or not feeling well and would sit next to you just sharing herself with you.

She would get into bed with us and burrow under the blankets.She would move up to my pillow and lay with her back against the back of my neck. It was like sleeping with a neck warmer. I woke one morning to find her laying on her back between us, her body under the blanket and her front paws above the blanket, with her head on the pillow.  When I opened my eyes and saw her, she immediately gave me a lick on the nose, as if to say "Good Morning Charlie".

Millie was always hungry, she never met a food she didn't like. When I would have chips and salsa, she would sit at my feet waiting for her chips. She even liked salad. When we would fix a salad, we would drop pieces of the ingredients in her food dish. First some lettuce, a cherry tomato, cucumber, broccoli, cheese, bacon bits, and finally croutons. The only thing it lacked was the dressing and she loved it all.  

One time we had the youth group from church over to the house to watch the Superbowl game. We had ordered pizza and were all enjoying the game. One girl let her plate get to close to the floor and in an instant Millie snatched a whole slice of pizza and ran from the room. Before any of us knew it had happened she had devoured the whole thing and was coming back looking for more easy targets.

To say that we will miss her is a vast understatement. Millie was so far past being a pet its hard to explain.She was a member of the family and we have lost a loved one. The house seems so empty without her. 

 

Then there's that great theological question, "Do dogs go to Heaven"? All I know is that I find it hard to imagine Heaven without them.  

What To Do?

When you get 16+ inches of snow....

...and the roads are not in any condition to be driving on; just what do you do?

Well, why bother doing anything?

Buddy and his split personality

Buddy is Courtney and Dave's family dog and he came along when they visited us for Thanksgiving. You really couldn't ask for a better dog for a family with kids. Thomas will lay on the floor using Buddy for a pillow or Lila will follow Buddy around with a tight hold on his nubby tail and the dog does nothing. It's like its all part of being in the family.

 

Now I don't know about you, but I was always taught and passed it on to my children, that you never bother a dog when it is eating or chewing on a bone. Buddy is the exception to the rule. Our 13 year old dog, Millie, growls if you come near her bowl when she's eating or even if you walk close when she's chewing a rawhide bone. Buddy could care less, he just likes having family around. 

 

Buddy's calm demeanor ends when the family leaves. Buddy the calm and mellow morphs into Buddy the wacko. We went out one evening and left Buddy and Millie at the house. When we returns we found that Buddy had popped a pane out of the window and shredded the curtains while jumping up to the window to see when the family returned. We thought it was just a aberration and put some cover on the window until the weekend. So when we went out another evening we thought all would be fine. Well, when we got in we found another pane out. So we covered that one until the weekend.

The next day went fine so we put it out of our mind. On Saturday, we all went to my parents for dinner, thinking that we had taken all the proper precautions to protect the window. When we got home and pulled up in front of the house, there was Buddy hanging out the second floor living room window. He had pushed the repairs out of the windows and squeezed through the space left by the now absent glass. He ripped through the screen window to finally have almost half his body hanging there in midair. My first thought was to jump from the car to run to the house and save the poor dog. By the time I got to the front door, unlocked and opened it; Buddy was at the door and bolted outside to greet his family. When I got inside, there was Millie laying on her bed looking up at me, as if to say, "I'm just too old for this kind of foolishness."

Needless to say, Buddy didn't stay home alone anymore. Dave and I replaced the panes of glass in the window and all is well.

 

I could make a boat load of spiritual analogies. You know, like God loving us that much or us loving God that much, but I'll let you work that one out for yourself. Buddy is still a great dog for my grandchildren.

Jeremiah, Leah, and the Dogs

Joanne and I went out to Jeremiah's house for a visit. His place is out in the county, up the side of a mountain. It is all wooded and there are no visible neighbors. Leah was there running around outside and playing with the dogs.

Leah tends to forget that she's smaller than the dogs. She just thinks that they're fuzzy playmates and she has no fear of them.

I think she was trying to do a tonsillectomy on Luna. The amazing thing was how gentle the dog was with her. Luna didn't bark, growl, or bite, she just played along.

Leah would get bumped or jostled by the dogs. Sometimes they would knock her down and walk right over her. She'd be sitting on the ground, under the dog, and just pushing up on their stomach to make them move.

I know we call dogs man's best friend, but these dogs are a little girl's best playmates.

Jeremiah has three dogs; Luna, Black Girl, and the newest that yet to be named. They all simply shown up at his door and stayed. He won't turn them away; they seem to understand and appreciate their adoption.