The New Dog
April 28, 2006
Well, I am a dog mom and a Euro-survivor.
Spain was a whirlwind of sights, and I will recount our adventures, but at this juncture, I feel compelled to close out the Puppy Lust segment of my ramblings.
 After arriving home Sunday at 8, I hightailed it to bed to rest up for the arrival of the Cutest Dog Ever, my 9 week old Portuguese Water Dog. She lived with her siblings in Wisconsin, and by the time Steve and I arrived, only her sister Fiona/Casey remained. Her mom was back home, but her aunt remained to keep her in check. The breeder’s husband has a wire-haired Griffon- a beautiful, shaggy faced hunting dog that I am sure Steve lusted for. No matter. I am intractable on this journey.
We said our hellos and goodbyes, and off we went with Pupcakes safely installed in her spanking new cage. She was a little sad, but the girl is adaptive. We made some rest stops for her, and I am sure a few truckers were amused at how little a puppy has to do to get effusive praise.
Mabel has been ideal, and she has some new tricks of her own. When the puppy settles in her nest, Mabel grabs the edge and tosses her off, like a magician pulling the tablecloth off and leaving the dishes.  Baby dog has been persistent and pesky, but she is glad to have a Big Dog to play with. And against all odds, I am delighted to have Mabel to run the steam out of the pup.
Yesterday we went to the pet store to procure a gate, and now our dogs live on hard surfaces. This is a step up for me, but a step down for Mabel. She will have to deal with a bit of confinement, but she will have a playmate. The pup found every loose loop in our hooked rigs, and she tried to unravel each one. She is defoliating the bushes one leaf at a time. But all I n all, she is adorable and sweet. I know this is the honeymoon, but I am in love. I am also bleary with allergies, jet lag and sleep deprivation. I had better not complain, because I asked for it.
All this energy dissipating reminds me of the blur right after you bring a baby home. You never get one thing done. Steve comes in, and the house is half assed, and I detail the emissions I have successfully encouraged. Of course, housekeeping and dinner suffer-, which is why, I cannot believe the order and pristine conditions of the breeder’s home. She even had a ridiculously tall and insanely delicious cake to offer us. I may get neater, but I will never be able to make a cake that beautiful! The big break with a dog is that  you can put them in a crate and get some R & R. That option is not open to new mothers. Maybe that is why I am only equipped for Dog mothering these days.
The breeder is having another one of her girls spend time with her boyfriend right now, so there will be new pups in June. I will have to resist the urge to lust at the breeder’s website. By then, my pup will be a pre-teen, and that is a difficult stretch for a pretty girl- the awkward age, I guess you might call it. Hope she does not need braces and glasses….
Steve wants to name her Peanut. But she will not be a peanut for long, and it would be undignified for a bigger dog to have a diminutive name. Nibs is in contention. At this time, her name is Millie. I cannot think of one reason, except that Mike and I tossed the name around and there was a $6.50 machine that makes tags as you wait. Now I need to backtrack to an AKC name that starts with F. Fergie was a perfectly nice name, So was Francie. What is my problem? I have not found a famous Mildred, except the woman who wrote a bunch of Nancy Drew mysteries, and she did not like her name enough to use it- she authored as Carolyn Keene. There’s Millie Vanilli- Fake Singer Millie does not sound right….and she has not yet lip-synced a thing. I’m processing. There will be updates..I mean pupdates, whether you want them or not. I am bubbling over with Puppy Love. For what’s her name. And relax- I still love Mabel. Mabel and Millie. M & M. I love the peanut kind. Is that a sign?
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