 Donna
Gets it Right ----
5 -14 -04
Puppies Are
Not So Cute At 1 am
As some of you already know, Ted and
I purchased a family pet recently.
We already had 4 kids, a cat and a
turtle, yet somehow it seemed like
something was missing. For reasons
we still don’t remember, we decided
a dog was missing.
We weighed our options about going
to the SPCA or buying from a breeder.
We did a lot of research on the subject.
We talked to people, read articles
on the internet and ultimately decided
to go with a breeder.
Not that there is anything in the
world wrong with going to the SPCA,
it’s a fine organization with
a great purpose. We just equated it
with taking the kids to Toys R Us and
asking them all to agree on just one
toy.
Ted and I had opinions about the kind of dog we wanted.
We definitely wanted a dog that would be good with kids.
Not so much for our three girls, but more for Alex,
our 3 year old son. I guess that’s why it took
us so long to decide. I was looking for a description
that said, “This breed of dog won’t bite
the head off of a 3 year old boy for continually pulling
his tail and ears.” Alex has no concept of gentle.
Maybe it’s his age, maybe it’s the HE part.
I’m used to girls and Alex is so completely different
from how they were at this age (But that is a whole
other article). Anyway, back to the puppy.
My whole life I’ve wanted a Basset Hound. Don’t
ask me why. It’s not from a movie or book or even
TV. I just love that they look so sad. It makes them
“extra lovin” dogs. You feel like you need
to pet them and play with them more, yet they still
have that same look. Ted took some convincing. He wanted
a Husky or German Shepherd, you know a “guy's”
dog. Those are great dogs, but require space to move
and run and our back yard is not fenced in. Frankly
I didn’t really want a dog that needed 50 lbs.
of dog food a week.
He let me get the Basset.
I found a breeder, checked the references,
spoke with her a couple of times, made
the appointment, took out a small loan
at the bank (just kidding) and we bought
ourselves a 5 month old Basset Hound.
She really is the sweetest dog. She
has the typical Basset face, which
took my girls some getting used to.
They asked repeatedly, why was she
so sad, when was she going to be happy
to be with us, etc. We eventually bought
a book so they could see that ALL Bassets
look like this ALL the time.
We named our new cute-as-a-bug dog
Maggie Mae. She slept a lot at first,
and when she wasn’t sleeping,
she was whimpering and crying, kind
of like a new baby. And she had her
days and nights mixed up also like
a new baby. She wanted to sleep all
day, then nibble everyone’s
feet and play at night.
Unlike a new baby though, you can’t
put diapers on a dog. After the initial
whimpering was over, we had to recognize
a new, different whimpering that meant
she had to go outside. She wanted to
go outside in the middle of the night.
Let me tell you, when your puppy starts
whining to go outside, it doesn’t
mean take your time, find your shoes
or pick out an outfit. It means MOVE
IT to the back door unless you want
your new cute-as-a-bug puppy to leave
you a smelly present on your nice carpet.
There have been a few times Ted and
I obviously didn’t move fast
enough, so she left us one in the middle
of our bedroom. At 1 a.m. a small pile
of puppy poop looks amazingly like
a lone sock or a wayward knee high.
I can still see Ted as he goes hopping down the hallway
on one foot, cussing in whispers the whole way, Maggie
cowering in the corner, as I sit on the bed rubbing
my eyes to can catch the last glimpse of Ted before
he makes it to the bathroom.
Not so cute, but extremely funny.
Until next time……
Donna
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