While I may not have children, I do have two adorable pups that act like children. As this day approached, I remembered back to the process involved in getting our sweet hounds.
It was June and we had just lost our beloved Golden Retriever Buster. It was time for her to go, but it nearly broke our hearts. About two weeks later I got a call from K & J giving me an address to stop at on my way home from work. There I found K & J with the cutest Basset Hound. She had just the right blend of white, brown, and black. She waddled when she walked and she was a nuzzler. We looked at her brothers and sisters, but we knew instantly this pup was for us. We ran to a pet store, grabbed a pink collar, and paid for her. We had to wait a couple of weeks until she was ready to leave her mom, but the owners were kind enough to let us stop by several times during our wait to see her. During this time we did a lot of studying about crate training so that when we picked up Cleo we were ready for her. She was so good with the crate.
The thing we quickly learned about Cleo was that she was a lover, but she was also a Basset through and through. She would get the stubborn I dare you look, even when she was only a few months old. We describe Cleo as having an old soul - she started turning white across her face when she was a couple years old and she doesn't put up with much silliness. But this sweet lady is as loyal and loving as they come.
At this time we also had a Springer Spaniel named Barkley. Talk about a loyal dog, she was definitely K's dog (even though she was a house dog - she loved K like no one else). So when Cleo came along, Barkley was none too happy. But our neighbors got one of Cleo's brothers at the time we got Cleo so we'd have him over for play dates and all was fine. Until the day the neighbors got a divorce and decided that Waldo needed a new home. Cleo would sit on the deck looking across the fence for her brother - it was so sad. After 3 months of this we decided she needed a buddy.
We started checking the area for Bassets and soon found a litter near Salt Lake City. So off we went to see the litter. What a difference this experience was - all the pups looked a like (except one lemon Basset, which means she was all light tan and white). We held puppy after puppy trying to decide. We knew we wanted one from the litter, but how to decide? We narrowed it down to two but K couldn't take the pressure of deciding and headed for the car. J and I knew which one we wanted so we produced the dog collar, paid the money, and went home to wait the two weeks until we could pick her up. We had grand plans to crate train this puppy since we'd had such good luck with Cleo.
But, Mabel was not into the crate. She cried (even when we tried all the normal puppy things) and cried and cried. So we ditched the crate thing. She also wasn't as quick to pick up the potty training and she really didn't like her paws wet. The wet paw thing was a problem since it was February and there was lots of snow. So we'd carry her from the door to the yard she'd do her thing and we'd carry her back. So yes, she is the princess of the house and it started early. Where Cleo was driven by food, Mabel is driven by attention. If your hand isn't busy it better be petting her. We even figured out that you could rest your foot on her and that worked well - as long as she was being touched. The great thing about this is that she is a snuggler! She LOVES to sit on you or near you. She has spent many hours sleeping between my knees on Sunday's while we hung out. But this hound is truly excited to see you. Most dogs are, but wow, Mabel has taken it to new heights. Her whole body wags when you come home and she talks (really more a squeek thing).
These are our babies, our children. They are the center of our lives and they know it, but I wouldn't trade them for the world. My life is better because of them and the love they share every single day. Here's what they look like now - cute aren't they?
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| Cleo |
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| Mabel |
Happy Mother's Day!!
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