Setting Up the Dogs

Once upon a time, my grandparent's had a dog. He was a Shar-Pei (those wrinkly dogs you remember from the Snuggle commercials). His name, classily enough, was Bubba Chang. He arrived one Christmas and was dead by the next. His grave is outside my grandmother's bedroom. So, to commemorate the death of this dog, they bought another dog and commissioned him Bubba.

In the subsequent years, they didn't know quite where to stop. From the woman that they bought Bubba from, they received a dog named Rosco. He was a rescue dog: blind, almost deaf, poor center of balance, and emotionally scarred, this dog had come from a home that should appear only on MSNBC specials on animal abuse...they shouldn't actually exist. And these animals shouldn't actually have to go through these things. Thus, Rosco hates being left alone and must sleep with someone every night. When my grandparents go away, I tend to house sit, because Rosco cries so much at night when he's by himself, the kennel will not take him any longer.

Then they bought Baby Girl and Pretty Girl. Then came Buffy (who died because of an undiagnosed bone marrow cancer at Auburn). Then came Opie. Then came Buddha and Giggles. Then came Izzy. They are black, brown, white, multi-colored, big, small, wire hair, short hair, long hair...a veritable panoply of all aspects of Shar-Peidom. My grandparents breed them, so that's why they have so many. They have such dumb names because that's what happens when you let a seven-year-old (my cousin, Baylee) name all of the animals.

Today, they brought home an all-white puppy. Her name is Gennarosa (sp?). That's what the breeder called her and they didn't change it. And she's really cute. She's 8 weeks old, and I can barely stand it. So, even though two of the other dogs are pregnant already, they continue to accrue dogs.

My mother hates the dogs, I think they're cute, and they have become part of the essential mix of the compound. I'm sure that I'll tell more stories about them someday, but here's the philosophy that this house has towards animals.

A few years ago, my grandfather had a violent infection that ultimately proved fatal. During this time, my grandparents bought him a puppy. My mother thought that he didn't care, but it seemed to bring some light into his life. So, my Aunt Lani said "If it'll make him smile, I'll buy him a dozen damn dogs."

So, we add family members. Because they make us smile in the face of all that isn't happy.