My Puppies
October 12, 2007

I still intend to reduce my presence on this space, but I had to share the evolution of my son and grand-dog in the past few days, because the changes are so pleasing.

First of all, Matthew, my dog-whisperer, wrestled a death bound pup, rescued by PAWS from their shelter. 36 hours later, he watched in horror as a pit bull crushed his baby face in its jaw. Walter required stitching and coning.  This did not assist his acclimation to an 11th floor residence. His cone did not comply with the crate’s dimensions.   Matt has been working patiently to comfort and reassure Walter, but I believe he was a street dog and his nature is to be skittish and wary.  He snaps his teeth to get your attention. His body reflects the United Nations of dogdom.  He visited the compound on Sunday, and we had 10 good hours before Mabel nipped him into place, with far more force than Walter ever expected or deserved.  Matt’s face was so gray and fragile when we saw blood that I morphed into Florence Nightengale. 

Despite this pack-based setback, it was a successful day.   Walter was able to show off his strong, natural swimming ability. He is not a cute dog in any way, but his eyes have a wistful trust that let me ignore all his personality quirks.  Walter is winning me over.  As he marks every bush in the yard, I justify this behavior by hoping that the bunnies/squirrels/chipmunks will be scared off by the scent of a man beast.  I buy him bones and toys to make up for his hardscrabble life before Paws and Matt conspired to save him.  Now that my boys are not needy,I can enjoy nursing a bloody dog.  I’m a fool for my boys and for dogs. Steve is not quite as much of a fool.  For either.

Secondly, Matthew has abandoned his Kyle Orton beard.  He shaved during his show on Saturday, based on a text-message poll favoring a cleaner look.  I spent a fortune texting YES to 41059, and I was rewarded.  He looks far less like a wolf/terrorist than he did before.  I am sharing the before and after pictures of my 2 youngest pups for your perusal.  These are little pleasures, and I am glad to spread the joy.