I couldn’t pin-point the exact moment, nor am I completely surprised that I find myself here, but sometime in the last few weeks I have become a full-fledged, borderline ridiculous dog person. Maybe it was when I happily spent 30 minutes picking burrs out of his fur. Maybe it was when I seriously debated between two toys in the pet store for longer than I’m willing to admit. Which one would make him happier? Maybe it was when I started talking to him as if he were another human. I’m not sure, but Gus has been with us almost 2 months now, and we are all completely, head-over-tails, in love with him.
I was the last one to get on board with this dog-owning business, mostly because I knew that most of the work of pet ownership would fall on me. And because I really, really liked my house fur-free. But now that he’s here, I can’t imagine life without him. Yes, there are the usual frustrating things that go along with having a dog. The fur mounding up in the corners. The accidents. The chewing. Those things are very much overshadowed by the many things we love about Gus:
- The adorable doggy head-tilt, mostly brought on when Elena practices her saxophone. We’re not really sure about some of the sounds that come out of there, either, buddy.
- How he cries every time you come back after being gone, even if being gone means you just went to get the mail. I mean, who doesn’t want that kind of devotion in their lives?
- The way he sleeps spreadeagle on his back and snores like an old man.
- How he reminds us that it’s the little things in life that bring the most joy, like a rogue ice cube that drops to the floor from the ice maker.
- Puppy snuggles and kisses.
- His ability to bring out the deepest of belly laughs from Eli. I really do think every little boy needs a dog. Closely rivaled by:
- His ability to get Elena off her iPod. We’ve tried everything. Turns out all we needed was a dog.
He goes by many names beyond Gus here: Gus Gus, Goose, Couscous, Gustifer, Oh Puppy! My Puppy! (a la Dead Poet’s Society). Mostly we’re just so happy to call him ours.
Yes, this reads EXACTLY like the sentiments of someone who has been converted to A Dog Person. You’re hooked. No going back now, my dear.
Gus is very sweet. You will think of many more names for him, trust me. Best of luck, friend!
Love this! The boys really want a dog, and we really want to get them one. But I’m not much of a “dog in the house” person. And, we would have to get a fence. Does he stay in a crate when you are gone? Do you have a fenced yard? He’s so cute!!!!
For being the last one to get on board, I’m probably the biggest pushover when it comes to the dog now. I just really like the (non-verbal, LOL) company in the house when the kids are in school all day! Guess I’m still looking for something to mother! He was already crate-trained when we adopted him, so that’s what we’ve stuck with. His crate is in our bedroom and we crate him when we leave and at night. We have an invisible fence that the previous owners left with the house (another reason the kids insisted we HAD to get a dog).