Confession #3

Confession #3

I often wonder if my dog will like the baby....or not.

Those who know me personally are aware of my relationship with my dog. Yes, relationship. Bruno, my long-haired dachshund, is my current baby. I treat him like he is my child, which is probably good news for my human child, because that means I'm gonna take really good care of that kid. Anyway, I spend lots of time with my little  Baby Bruno, my puppernickle, my cuddlebutt, my teddy bear. I often take him with me when I go places, and we frequent the dog park several times a week. He sleeps in our bed (to my husband's discontent) and cuddles with me all night. I often stay in bed just a little longer in the morning for a little cuddle time. Bruno usually stays in bed a lot longer, he's not much of a morning person. 

Yes, person. Because that's how I regard my dog. 

You might think I'm a little bit crazy: the dog equivalent of a cat lady. You might be right, but you're not gonna see me care. My little dog makes me very happy. He takes care of me when no one else is home. In fact, we acquired Bruno in the first place because I needed to care for something, and something needed to care for me. 

AND flashback...

We had been married for only four or so months. I was in that weird place between graduating college and "graduating" college. You know, that point in between finishing all your classes and being all done and the university acknowledging your success. The school district wouldn't let me start working until I had an actual copy of my degree. As I'm sure you know, universities take a little while to get those out to you, especially when you are living 2,000 miles from the school. The school promised to rush my degree to me, but, as you might have guessed, it still took a few months. 

During this down time, I was bored out of my mind. I was stuck in a tiny studio apartment in Upstate New York during the middle of winter. Every one I knew was at school or work during the day. My husband was finishing up his last year at school also, so he was quite busy. Being stuck in a tiny apartment with nothing to occupy your time and with snow up to your knees outside is a recipe for unhappiness and slight insanity. 

The cure? Well, you get a dog. Obviously. 

I love dogs. We had dogs growing up, and when I was in middle school, we rescued a little miniature dachshund named Daisy. Some people would call her our family dog, but come on, let's be real; she was my dog. When we got Daisy she was 7. We had 7 more good years with her before she died. So, when we started looking for a dog and trying to decide what breed, miniature dachshund shot to the top of my list. 

Of course we tried several shelters before finding Bruno. The shelters had some great dogs, but the dogs we liked were all a little too big for our tiny studio, and the small dogs were....well, they were annoying. 

I finally found a family in the middle-of-nowhere, New York that had dachshunds. They had a new litter of short-hairs, and a slightly older long-hair that we could have at a discount. My husband and I discussed names and finally settled on Pike for a boy. When we went to visit the puppies and saw the long-hair, we knew that name was just not going to work. The long-hair was a little bigger than the 6 week old puppies, and he played rough with them. We knew he was the one we wanted, and the only name that could possibly fit that little long-haired brute was Bruno. 

We brought him home and the rest is history, except for the fact that a new member of the family might disrupt the order of our household. Scratch that, definitely will disrupt the order of our household. I mean, its a baby, so obviously. I think in time Bruno will love our little addition, but the question remains, how will he act when there is another tiny one stealing all his attention? 

Don't worry readers. I'll let you know. 

And now for your enjoyment, pictures of Baby Bruno. I seriously take way too many pictures of him. Its weird. 

 Baby Bruno as a little puppy, just out of the bath (he's now about a year and a half old)

 

Baby Bruno trying to look innocent....    

                             Baby Bruno laying in bed an hour after I had gotten up.

                          Baby Bruno shaking off the water in Letchworth, New York