Meet the Main Characters

      Oh, the life of dogs! I have an almost 12-year-old Shihtzu poodle mix. My daughter has a nearly one year old rescue dog of not fully known origin. We think border collie for sure, but alternate between also lab, greyhound, or potentially even some shepherd. He's rambunctious, but not a destroyer, as of yet at least. Yes, he has torn apart his toys and ripped up his bed when bored. We've caught him in the act of having a few things not for him, but knock on wood, we haven't seen the wide scale destruction I've seen illustrated on various social media sites. Well, he did eat a tv remote, and an old pair of my daughters' glasses-both left out of their storage places, an almost invitation to the puppy to help himself. My son's shoe was a casualty-the tongue chewed to where it wasn't wearable, but they were old shoes. Oh wait. He ate my college kids key fob so she's got a trip in Monday to Facility Services to get it replaced and will have to coordinate getting into her apartment building with friend or roommate Sunday night. I guess he has left a bit of a path of destruction, just moderate though. 

     Pup, as I refer to the older dog, alternates between merely tolerating the young dog, who is three times his size, mind you, and being annoyed the young guy even exists. Grand pup, as I call the younger, on the other hand, wants so bad to get the old guy to play and chase, and have a jolly good time. Pup is not having it. When grand pup came into our lives, he was a five-month-old rescue dog, having the one month in a foster home waiting to be adopted, but who knows what he endured his first four months. He was thin, timid, and his fur was patchy. He's the picture of dog health now and seeing him want to play is a total joy when we think back to that September evening when my daughter first introduced him to us and he wanted to run under the car and wouldn't let people near him. He still is leery of new people, men in particular, but it takes him about three minutes to give his green light of approval. 

     My daughter perhaps prematurely adopted her dog, her schedule not very conducive to an energetic puppy. We fell in love with him right from the get-go too though, so agreed we'd help with doggie daycare during the work weeks since I mostly work from home. Since my husbands unexpected death in January, we've tested out a real doggie daycare and it was a hit. We use it for days I need to go into the office and now also have a trusted place should we ever need boarding. Pup does OK, in fact likes, being on his own for a significant portion of the day. He gets a good walk before I leave, food and water left, but something tells me based on his day when I'm home, he spends the day sleeping.

     While pets are a lot of work, having them has been a god send for me. They give me reason and purpose to get up on days I just feel like staying in bed, covers over my head, shutting the world out. My husband loved walking in the door, and after being fed himself, worked with the grand pup on sit, stay, wait, and the annoying jumping. He would exclaim over and over, "this guy is so smart," with each successful command obeyed. I admit I need to do more of this and am hopeful when the bleak long Minnesota winter subsides, we can be outside more and more, and practice those skills, with my daughter and I reinforcing each other's progress. I am avoiding the subject of weight in any blog arena right now but will say the added walks have helped me drop over 10% of my weight without really changing any other bit of my life this past fall. Well, adding at least three miles walking a day will do that! 

     Pup is eager to just get in on the training treats, and just lives his life as the little prince that he is when the grand pup isn't here. Pup makes sure to know where I am all the time. If I need a little thinking time, my code for laying on my bed with my eyes shut, often with tears rolling down my cheeks, he joins me, even though the effort as he has aged to get on the bed is immense. I need to get some dog stairs for him. Right now, this is my household. My daughter will be home once she graduates in May, though longer-term plans are unknown. I'll pop in from time to time to share little tidbits about the furry family members in this space. It's a Dog's Life blog will be a sort of journal of this new life I have, shared with a couple lovable hounds. 

My daughter has a large window seat built in, but he has decided this works at my house for keeping the neighborhood watch. 

I guess new rules for both the living room
and the furniture are now applied.