The Pooch

The title of this photo is The Dogly Essence of Leo

Today I'm writing to you from my folks' house. Interestingly enough, we ended up paying off our car last month just in time for us to have to do some work on it...isn't that always the way it goes.  So, while we don't have a car payment anymore, we're spending half a car payment getting it fixed this month. Oh well.  Half of a car payment is better than a whole one.  

Anyway, since my dad was kind enough to give me a ride back from the shop and feed babyjama and I breakfast, we're spending the day here too...to take him up on all of his hospitality. 

So I realized as I was contemplating what to post about that I've told all of you very little about our dog Leo. The story of Leo begins long before we ever got him with Kaya.  Kaya was papajama's dog before we ever met. He lived on a lake and when some neighbors moved and couldn't bring their old boxer mix with them, he took her in. She was a dog of the lake, and ran free as she wished but always came back.  She was the kind of dog that was so ugly she was cute, and had very wise eyes.  

By the time papajama and I met, Kaya was old. She grunted as communication, and the voice that we imagined that she would have was that of the old cafeteria lady from the Simpsons. She had one big problem though, which was that she couldn't hold her pee in much anymore. We put her on incontinence meds, and hoped for the best. 

As our wedding neared, and we started moving our belongings into the house that we would share after we were married, things started going down hill for Kaya. She constantly dripped urine, and flies followed her around the house and out into the yard. We knew we would be gone for weeks following the wedding, and couldn't think of anyone who would take care of her. The final decision to put her down came one day when she was lying on the porch, flies on her hind legs, and a huge gush came out of her, and she didn't even notice.

We were the last clients at the vet that day. Kaya dripped all the way into the room at the office.  The vet said we were making the right decision, but it wasn't much consolation. We both stayed with her until she was gone, and then left with her collar and leash, but without her.

After we were married, the house seemed empty without Kaya. Papajama spent much of the summer reading on the porch, but without his usual companion.  Toward the beginning of the school year though, he said he was ready to move on, and wanted a new dog. I was glad that he was ready, and so we started the search.  The criteria for our search were three fold: 1) a shelter dog 2) a puppy 3) a Rhodesian Ridgeback.  Those three things put together made our search rather difficult.  However, within a couple of weeks we had found a match. 

A litter of puppies had been dumped off at a shelter in Oklahoma City. They were half German Shepherd and half Rhodesian Ridgeback. That weekend, we decided that we would go ahead and make the 8 hour trek and get our pup. I can't imagine now deciding to go anywhere 8 hours away on the spur of the moment, but I guess that was the charm of being newlyweds. When we got there, he was perfect. The woman brought him out of the kennel, and our curious little guy couldn't wait to explore. He barely paid any attention to us as he sniffed out scents under the woman's desk, and as he slithered around cords in the office.

He rode the entire way sitting on our laps, sleeping, and biting. He was the epitome of puppy with his golden fur, black snout, cleopatra eyes, and rolly polly personality.  A month and a half later, when we found out I was pregnant with babyjama, I knew that we had to begin a crash course in discipline.  He was our wild child. He chewed and bit and jumped on EVERYTHING. As the months went on I was sure it was going to be a nightmare to have him and a baby. I distinctly remember the battle over the jumping.  At five months pregnant (with a 8 month old puppy who was half my size) I wrestled him to the ground after he jumped up right on my belly...I would show him who was boss. But the week babyjama was born it was like all of the puppy dissolved.  Not that he isn't fun anymore, but he has a certain calm about him that I never would have expected out of him.

The past few months have been rough on Leo though. He has lost much of his personal space since babyjama gained the abilities of running and climbing. He's gotten a little crotchety...he doesn't like her to touch him, and he runs off while making chewbaca noises. We've been overreacting to all of this and scolding him quite a bit. So this past week we've been making an effort to really praise our good boy for all of the wonderful things that he does.  I've noticed an immediate difference. Leo has been holding his head up higher lately and showing a bit more of his feisty self. He may be goofy and silly and rambunctious, but he's our boy, and we wouldn't trade him for anything.