Bye-Bye My Dear Puppy

It is never a good idea to "gift" somebody an animal. I should have said, "No thank you," when my Mom's caretaker offered the dog to me as we met for the last time. She had been so good to my Mom in her final weeks. Roxie could always make her smile. But Mom was now deceased, and Roxie was about to move into a rental house with no furniture. She just had to tote it from Dallas back to Denton. Her sister and their men spent a hot August afternoon loading a car, a truck, and a trailer.

Since I had offered Roxie some of Mom's furniture, and perhaps she thought I needed the extra love of a new loving canine. I already and a German Shepherd of 13 years, and a harem of cats from the Mama Kitty that didn't get fixed soon enough. But the year old Chiweenie (part Chihuahua and part Weenie Dog) came to live in my house and my heart.

Having a small dog in the family was something I had never experienced. From the first night, the little brown dog squirmed under the bed covers, and snuggled up to my belly to sleep. This mildly annoyed my white Golden Flame Siamese cat of nine years who had been sleeping on my bed, next to my pillow, for at least the past five years. Eventually, my "Angel" kitty, deserted the bed. Every so often she would show up to try to get her spot. I was sleeping in a Craftmatic single size. All the cats enjoyed the vibration setting. I could set the vibration timer for 15 minutes, and have three or four purring and sleeping cats when the motor shut off. "India" had a puppy, a litter of one puppy, and he slept under the covers between my knees.

Twice I fell out of bed. I had always slept in full sized bed before, but when I upgraded, the Temperpedic and Craftmatic were cheaper in the one person size. I'm the only human in my household these days. But the number of animals wanting to sleep in my bed got to be a problem. Twice, I tossed and turned myself into a tizzy; I got out of bed shaking sheets and screaming cat curses and doggie don'ts, and all the critters left.

Life caused unexpected changes. The most recent was that my puppy's puppy got Parvo just after the 4th of July. Two days later, actually the second night, he died at the vet's. The puppy was nine months old, and I've never been as attached to a dog as I was to that puppy. THe Mama dog isn't able to communicate about our loss, and I've quit saying "Cowboy," his name.

The Indian ran off some inside kitties when she moved in. When the puppy died, the eldest of the group decided to challenge for house privileges. The Siamese-ish white cat would take on the little brown dog. Spats usually ended in a draw. but I helped the kitty some. She had to spend a winter as an outside kitty when the puppy came, and then the puppy's puppy appeared and the two outnumbered her.

I realized recently that I was not in control of my house. The worst part was the puppy's pee and pooh habits. She won't go outside at all. She goes in the area of those rather expensive pooh-pooh pads, but seldom ON THEM. My carpets are a health hazard. I did make efforts to change her habits, but she beat me-she won. I finally got to the realization that I would be picking up little dog shit from the carpet for the rest of her life, or my life. That's bad enough, but she's pissing in the carpet. Her first Mma didn't train her, and I couldn't change her behavior.

The little brown Chiweenie is going to live with my girlfriend Lisa. She has had little dog most of the time I've known her. She may also get one of the kittens that the dog is used to playing with.

I'm having neck surgery this coming week, and that forced me to make the decision. The carpet cleaner will steam clean the house on Wednesday. I have between Monday and Wednesday to wash all the dog smell possible out of the house. And we need to re-evaluate the pecking order, or the totem pole. It will take care of itself, but there are a couple of personalities yet to evolve. I will miss my little 10 pound ball of frenzy, but as an undercover dog--I need her not to be loving me under the covers as I recover from cervical stenosis surgery.

She just went to a new Mama, and I can always visit. My house and my health will be much more calm with fewer pet personalities.