Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Dogs

Dogs are funny creatures. They bring joy, frustration, love, and laughs.

Case in point: when our youngest son and his girlfriend could no longer take care of their dog, we inherited her. Lil Mammas has brought many emotions with her because even though we were not looking for a dog - especially an American Staffordshire Terrier (a cousin of the Pit Bull) - once we laid eyes on her we fell in love.

Zack rescued Lil Mammas from an abusive home when she was only 9 weeks old. I must admit, I was afraid knowing she was a pit bull but Zack reminded me of something I always said, "you can't judge a book by its cover".

Zack and Lil Mammas
So we proceeded to fall in love with his dog. However........

Several months later, Zack got into trouble and was arrested. His girlfriend cared for Lil Mammas for a few weeks but ultimately the care of this dog fell to my husband and me. Our oldest cared for her when he could while I was on business trips and if we ever had to go away overnight. He eventually moved her into his house with his roommate and another dog.

Mammas got along great with the other dog but Nik didn't get along so great with his roommate so after 6 months, Mammas moved back in with us.

Nik and Mammas
At this point, she's already lived in 3 homes, had 7 caregivers, and 4 "owners". When she came home that last time, while both of our sons claimed to be her owner, neither of them could care for themselves much less a dog, so I decided that this was her home and they can visit. It's a good thing too because both of my sons have now died, and Mammas is grieving. But we will not get into that today.

Mammas has a funny habit of sleeping UNDER a blanket. She crawls under the quilt and lets me know if she is cold and needs to be covered up again. Recently, I was sitting here watching TV and she started whining. I went down the list of things she might need/want - food, water, to go outside to do her business, medication (yes, she knows when I don't give it to her), treat for after she does her business, or comfort.

Since I had already met the first several needs, I decided she was uncomfortable.

We were watching TV on the couch. I usually don't watch TV during the day, and when we watch TV at night, we snuggle under a blanket. She was sitting there yipping at me so obviously, even though I was petting her, I was not providing the right comfort to meet her needs.

I took off my robe and threw it over her head. Immediately she wiggled herself into a comfortable position, and here she sits with only her behind showing. Silly dog.

#lilmammasbigadventure
You can read more about Mammas at #lilmammasbigadventure


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