We Are Definitely Being Prepped for Children

Okay.  So it's not the same.  But I raised a child for eight years and I'm telling you...it's close. 

For those of you that do not know, we have had our Jack Russell Terror Terrier Mix, Daisy, for just over three years now.  We adore Daisy.  She is a delight.  And comparatively, she is pretty calm next to others of her main breed.  However, she IS quite active and she definitely keeps life...interesting.

Daisy recently inherited a little sister. 

My husband works for Code Enforcement in a neighboring city.  He makes sure that the people of the city follow the city codes.  He also is the Animal Control Officer of said town, therefore, he also is the guy you call when you find seven abandoned puppies behind a laundrymat and don't know what to do with them.  (Is there really a need for further explanation?  Probably not, but here goes nothing.)

We came home for lunch about a month ago and as we were standing there discussing some junk mail, I heard all kinds of noises coming from the back of Corey's truck.  It sounded like squealing pigs.  "What IS that?" I asked.

"That is nothing.  Do not look in there, Baby."  Okay.  My husband really does know me better than that.  I believe this is the place in the story where he realized that we were going to have another little furry family member.  Let's get real.  He knew this when he placed those puppies into the truck and started driving home with them in the kennel.  I know he'll never admit that, but it doesn't matter.  I know I'm right.

I peeped into the back window to see all kinds of little black eyes staring me in the face.  I opened the door and listened to them snorting and grunting...trying to be the first one to get out when I opened the door.  See?  Even they knew.

I opened the door and picked up the one with the tri-colored face.  "This one is for me, right?"  I shut the door and looked at my husband with the sweetest smile that I could muster up.  He laughed at me. 

"I knew this was going to happen.  Let's take her inside."  (I told you he had this planned, didn't I?  It was too easy.  I typically have to plead my case a little more than this.  He isn't fooling me, Internet.  Don't you worry.)

But look at this face.  Can you flipping BLAME him?

Meet Shelby.

We don't know exactly what she is since she WAS abandoned, but we believe her to be part border collie and part australian shepherd.  She was about 7 weeks old when we took her into our home.  She is so much different than Daisy was at her age.  Daisy would literally run laps around the dining room table and had two modes:  tornado and aftermath.  It took Daisy about a year and a half to learn "calm down". 

Shelby is bouncy when she plays, but has a real lazy streak about her.  She is a puppy, so of course she is playful.  But she only seems to be bothered with playing for about a half an hour at a time.  At that point, she's spent and just curls up for an hour long nap.  Play this scene over and over every single day and you have a good picture of her personality.  (She even lies down to eat.)

Daisy and Shelby have a true love/hate relationship.  At first, Daisy treated Shelby as if she were HER baby.  She would worry about her when she couldn't see her.  She couldn't stand to hear her cry.  She would even groom Shelby and snuggle with her. 

This sort of ended when Shelby was big enough to push Daisy around.  Shelby's favorite activity is trying to chew off  Daisy's face.  It's pretty entertaining.  We get a lot of enjoyment out of watching this take place.  Especially since, you know, Daisy did this to Niko for three years.

The standoff begins...

Sneak Attack.

Never let them get the upperhand.

They really do love each other.  They cannot stand to be separated.  Shelby copies whatever Daisy does.  It's a good thing that Daisy is well trained, that's all I can say.  Maybe they will learn to appreciate each other one day. If not, at least they will definitely know where the other "stands".