Get a dog, they said. He’ll keep you young, they said.
Thus Skippy joined our family just under a year ago. He was a rescue dog. He attached himself to Mrsfabp and absolutely hated me. Barked at me for months. Would only take a treat at arms lengthy and sometimes not even then. Wouldn’t let me put his leash on and wouldn’t let me take him for a walk. We’d get outside and he would simply stand at leash length and not move, until we went back inside. Over the year, he has slowly changed. He comes when called, loves his crate and likes sitting next to Mrsfabp as she watches TV or knits or even naps.
In September, Mrsfabp and I celebrated belatedly, our 30th anniversary with a trip to Santa Fe. As always, our friends Bill and Clair offered to take Skippy in for a couple of days. We took the high speed commuter rail there and had a wonderful time. Skippy too had a great time, hanging out with the Pirate Dogs (read about them here). When you have that many pets, what is one more. Skippy fitg right into the pack and enjoyed his stay. Maybe enjoyed it too much. We picked him up when we got home and when we got inside, he plopped himself, chin down, on the kitchen floor, barely moving a muscle. He obviously was depressed and in need of puppy uppers for sure.
That next Saturday we went to Nellie’s as usual and told our friends about our depressed doggie.
Get another dog, they said. It will give him a playmate, they said.
And with this encouragement, we went to the animal shelter booth at the Farmer’s Market where we found a little chihuahua. He was skin and bones, shaking nervously and loved to be held. I didn’t want a big dog and this one, fit the bill. We named him after our favorite restaurant here in Las Cruces, Nellie’s. Now for those who might think that that is a girls name and silly for a boy, I say Nellie Foxx, Nelson Briles, Nelson Figeroa, Nelson Cruz, Nelson Liriano, and Captain Tony Nelson (kids, ask your parents) all say hello. So Nelson it was.
Thus Skippy joined our family just under a year ago. He was a rescue dog. He attached himself to Mrsfabp and absolutely hated me. Barked at me for months. Would only take a treat at arms lengthy and sometimes not even then. Wouldn’t let me put his leash on and wouldn’t let me take him for a walk. We’d get outside and he would simply stand at leash length and not move, until we went back inside. Over the year, he has slowly changed. He comes when called, loves his crate and likes sitting next to Mrsfabp as she watches TV or knits or even naps.
In September, Mrsfabp and I celebrated belatedly, our 30th anniversary with a trip to Santa Fe. As always, our friends Bill and Clair offered to take Skippy in for a couple of days. We took the high speed commuter rail there and had a wonderful time. Skippy too had a great time, hanging out with the Pirate Dogs (read about them here). When you have that many pets, what is one more. Skippy fitg right into the pack and enjoyed his stay. Maybe enjoyed it too much. We picked him up when we got home and when we got inside, he plopped himself, chin down, on the kitchen floor, barely moving a muscle. He obviously was depressed and in need of puppy uppers for sure.
That next Saturday we went to Nellie’s as usual and told our friends about our depressed doggie.
Get another dog, they said. It will give him a playmate, they said.
And with this encouragement, we went to the animal shelter booth at the Farmer’s Market where we found a little chihuahua. He was skin and bones, shaking nervously and loved to be held. I didn’t want a big dog and this one, fit the bill. We named him after our favorite restaurant here in Las Cruces, Nellie’s. Now for those who might think that that is a girls name and silly for a boy, I say Nellie Foxx, Nelson Briles, Nelson Figeroa, Nelson Cruz, Nelson Liriano, and Captain Tony Nelson (kids, ask your parents) all say hello. So Nelson it was.
Skippy on left, Nelson on the right
How do they get along now? Like two brothers, they fight and taunt and get under each others skin at times. They still are figuring out the Alpha dog thing, although Skippy wins that battle most days. He will take Nellie’s whole head in his mouth when they play fight but Nellie rarely backs down. There is nothing quite like seeing them asleep together on the couch or walking on their hind legs begging for a treat.
Playing tug of war
Mrsfabp quote "No need to fight over the sweater boys, its 70 degrees
Now if this post was written by our cat, Kanye, it would simply say, “I HATE THOSE DOGS...”
1 comment:
Two kids, two dogs...
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