Lets Talk Mutts

[FourAM]

Ok I admit it, it's raining and I am bored. I have not had this much free time in months and I think it is getting to me. So I am going to bore someone, the brave and bored, and tell them about the two loves of my life. (we are not counting Dh and the cat right now)

Let me begin with the furry son I did not know I wanted. Dh brought him home one day about nine years ago and I told him you have to take him back...He yelped when you tried to pet him, threw up when he rode in the car, and had long hair. I used to work at the vet when I was eighteen and these are all things that turned me off. The yelpers were normally fear biters. The throwing up was a sign of a dog that might have anxiety later and well the long hair...I am allergic. With all that being said, I still have a heart and dh told me about the horrible conditions the puppy had lived in and that he knew if he took him back, he would have a horrible life. So I took the next three days spending all the minutes I could with him. We named him bishop...I do not know why, later his nickname stuck. Butters! I fed him by hand and when he wanted to sneak away from me, I would not let him. I wanted him to know that not all humans are the same and that we were not going to mistreat him. By the end of day three he had come around pretty good. He would actually come to me instead of me having to go to him. He has been the greatest dog. He is so smart and has such a personality. I don't mean happy go lucky, I mean brooding and thoughtful. I know how can a dog be thoughtful. Trust me and every other pet lover. He is always thinking. He knows if he gives me this certain look I will melt in his paws like putty. He has been the greatest dog I could ever have and I almost let him go. Now he is older and I am looking into his future and know that one day the inevitable will happen and he will not be with us. I will look back and know that the one of the best things I ever did and the best gift dh has ever given me was my Butters.

Now onto my fat baby girl. She was an accident. I am a one dog kind of girl but have since seen the error in that judgment ( for our family anyway). We live in the country and you will normally have a stray now and then. You just can not take them all in so when she came up I felt sorry for her. I did not techniquely start feeding her, she would just take the leftovers from Butters. We did not run her off...I am not sure why, she just had a sweetness about her. Butters did not mind her so why should we. During bad weather, we always let butters in. One day it was storming so bad I had to let him in and she just so happened to be out there too. Of course she is not a strange dog at this point but she is still not what I would consider my dog so I let him in and there she was at the window looking so rejected and heart broken. Why did no one care enough about her to let her in? Well my heart was breaking and afraid of what was going to happen after I let her in (I have an inside cat), I threw caution to the wind and opened the door and caught her so I could dry her off. From that day forward she was our baby girl. We named her Hearty, because of a perfect heart on her face and it was very befitting because she ran away with our hearts. She learned all that she needed to know by watching Butters and never even had one accident in the house. She has taught me that dogs are more like humans than we think. Due to her being a stray, she has a super eating disorder...Now I know that sounds like mumbo jumbo but we do not over feed our dogs but if she is not satisfied she will find her own food. Don't ask me to elaborate. Although our male dog , who we have had since he was a puppy, is the size he should be, our little girl is a chunk. She has the opposite of a Hollywood Starlet's body. Instead of a big head and little body, she has a little head and big body. So cute, on a dog (please don't tell about fat unhealthy dogs, I know, I worked at a vet) I am doing the best I can.

I am not saying that these dogs qualify for the best dogs in the world award. Sometimes they do not mind, sometimes I wake up to them having something treed in the back yard, and sometimes they find something so disgusting to roll in that we can not pet them for a week. But I love them. My life would be so dull without them and their funny antics.

So since it is raining and I did not have anything better to do but bore a bunch of other people, who if they read this entire thing did not have anything better to do anyway, I have let you know about the love of my mutts. They will never be in Westminster but I don't give a darn.

 

[princessbear]

I read the whole thing through with a huge smile onmy face . It is clear that you love your furbabies and I, for one, want to thank you for sharing with the rest of us! My Princess (a cat) is the love of my life ... for many reasons... I adopted her 5 years ago and, at the time, I used to joke with people that she was "emotionally disturbed" - she had been abandoned in the middle of winter in a carrier in the cemetery. When she came to me, she was scared, but slept with me the first night (and every night thereafter). She wouldn't play with toys, would cringe when I reached for her if I was in a standing position, basically frightened but so obviously ready to love and be loved. In 5 years (and especially the past 3 after "we" bought our home and settled in), she has become a real cat ... she plays with toys, plays with me and rules the house! She still doesn't like being picked up, and will occasionally cringe if I reach for her too fast, but otherwise, she has become this amazing creature and I consider her one of the bravest creatures I have ever known. So I understand your feelings when it comes to your dogs.

Again, thank you for sharing...