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Likes: tummy rubs, people food, being petted, rubbed, scratched, or caressed in any way
Pet-Peeves: crowds, loud noises, thunderstorms, commotion, or being accosted by lunging scary people who all want to pet her at once
Favorite Toy: squeaky-squirrel
Favorite Food: whatever people are eating, even if she actually doesn't like it and won't eat it
Favorite Walk: someplace with no loud scary cars
Best Tricks: wave, high five (with a "go for ten!" variation that involves both paws), dance, bow, crawl
Arrival Story: Growing up, animals were always a huge part of my life. There were dogs in the house before us kids, so I'd always "had a dog" but I wanted a dog of my own for a pretty long time. I saved my pennies for about three years and did a lot of research and thought about the perfect breed for me. I was sixteen years old when I finally got the dough saved up and the go-ahead from the folks, so I started looking for a Papillon at last! It turned out to be a tougher task than expected. Most breeders were not only few and far between, but also put off by my age. I ended up finding a BYB/puppy miller through a Dog Fancy ad who seemed, at first, to be a responsible and ethical dog breeder. I thought I knew the right questions to ask, but apparently she knew the right way to lie. I ended up with a pup who was seven weeks old, coated in fleas, with tapeworm, coccidia, and a lot of nervous tendencies. I was a bit sad that pet therapy (i.e. visiting nursing homes and such) would not be in our future, but I just shrugged, took the ferret to the nursing home instead, and loved Eppy exactly as she was. I wouldn't trade her for anything.
Bio: I don't know what I'd do without my dog. She's my companion, watchdog, and tiny protector, but most of all she's a source of joy and love. She saw me through high school, college, and a lot of tough transitions including multiple job changes and deaths in my family. She's always there, and even when I'm not perfect she loves me for who and what I am. Her devotion never wavers and she's taught me things I never knew I didn't know. I hope each day that we'll share many years of being together.
Forums Motto: Love unconditionally.
The Groups I'm In: Dogster University
The Last Forum I Posted In: Lad: a Dog
I've Been On Dogster Since:
If possible, you grow more dear
to me with every passing year.
Your eyes are filmed with telltale glaze
but hold me still in loving gaze.
Your face is frosted, just a touch,
and so I love you twice as much
as yesterday, for in our prime,
perhaps we never felt the time
as now we feel the push of days
and vow to hold them close, always.
With you I share a bond so pure
that ever will our hearts endure.
Not even our mortality
can keep your love from reaching me,
so when I slumber, if you've gone
your legacy would carry on
in dreams we'll romp, in spirit play
'till we should meet again someday.
And this I vow, if I should go,
I'll be with you, and you will know.
And always find, through any dark,
you'll know true friendship by its bark.
I guess it's true what they say about how you can't go back home once you've left!
The Setup: Eppy and I are back home in the country with my folks for the time being. I'm still looking for work so we're not sure how long it will be before I'm able to move out. I'm glad I have the kind of parents that'll always take their kid back! My Mom and Dad and I really love each other, and they are wonderful people (and I really mean that, even though I'm about to complain about them, so bear with me!), but even though I anticipated SOME of this, it is MUCH harder for an adult kid to be back home with the folks (and our collective pets) than I ever thought possible!
The Situation: things are a bit tense. The biggest problem is the dogs! Mom and Dad grew up under a way different era of dogkeeping. They don't see a problem with letting the dogs have free run of the acreage around here (I keep my mouth shut about their dogs but Eppy has to use a tether unless I'm outside watching). And so of course what constitutes a "good dog" to them, and how training or discipline is accomplished with the dogs, is completely different from the rules at my house. Which is fine... until we live under the same roof!
In my house, dogs do not get pushy about soliciting attention. They have to be invited into laps and get an "okay" before they come into my "bubble" and nose or paw for a pat. To Mom and Dad, that means they're affectionate and is an acceptable way to ask for attention. If I scold or ignore or move away from the dogs when they do this, my mother says how "mean" I'm being to them. Because I don't want Winston (medium-large powerful mixed breed) punching me in the face with his heavy snout or scratching the daylights out of my legs with his thick claws? What?! Winnie's a good dog, or rather he could be if he got some consistency and direction in his nervous life. But I don't want him all over me, I don't even let MY dog get away with that so why do I want sixtyfive pounds of it in my face?! If I bring it up I'm reminded that this is their house so I should be working harder to adjust to the rules. I've taken to trying not to interact with their two dogs. It makes me feel like a jerk, but the slightest bit of attention will send them into wanting to be all over me. I love dogs, but I like to choose when I'm basically wearing them, thanks.
And Eppy of course gets no consistency because the rules are now different, so she acts up like crazy when she was pretty much angelic at the apartment. She won't even listen to ME anymore. It's getting really frustrating. Mom and Dad are sure it's because I'm just a bad dog owner with bad dogs and Eppy's just not as great as their "great" dog Emma.
The worst part? My dad is constantly, constantly comparing Eppy to Emma, the sainted, can-do-zero-wrong JRT. I'm SICK of it. He villainizes poor Eppy at every turn, and always has some unfavorable comparison to offer about how Eppy is such a bad dog and Emma is so great. He talks scathingly of the time Eppy tried to "help" our previous terrier Sparky get some kind of animal in the yard, raccoon or woodchuck or whatever. (Dad's one of those advocates of "terrier spirit" and likes to watch the JRTs catch rodents big and small in the yard... I like a wildlife-filled yard and while I know hunting instinct is strong in terriers I wish they'd "hunt" balls and frisbees!) And Eppy would nip its flank to distract it, while Sparky went in for the kill, and if it turned around to her, she'd yelp and run. "It's so funny because she is such a cowardly girly frou-frou dog" he says. SHE'S A TOY DOG, NOT A DAMN TERRIER. LET IT GO. Besides, cowardly? Cowardly? She backed one of my boyfriends into a wall once because he hugged me and she had never met him. She came in the room and found him towering over me, so I guess that she misconstrued the situation was my fault for not telling her to come say hi first. The guy could've killed her with one kick and he was at her mercy. She's cowardly if killing woodchucks is what makes you brave-- but she'll stand up when it COUNTS.
Honestly, I'm starting to hate terriers. And it's Dad's fault. I used to want a Toy Fox Terrier, or an APBT if I ever wanted a bigger dog, but now I know I'll never have another. The JRTs and their "terrier spirit" is more than enough for one lifetime. Emma hates other dogs and bullies Winston, but somehow she's still perfect while Eppy is barely tolerated.
It bugs me. "It's Emma's house" they keep saying. Well, guess what, Eppy was here long before Emma, and I was here long before that! We both grew up here, and for better or worse we're stuck here for the moment! I'm sick of hearing about how in the way Eppy is (which they don't seem to realize also means how in the way I am, of course) and how hard it is two keep the two apart (as Emma grew up she decided nothing would do but Eppy be killed, and so the two have an undying blood feud and need to be separated at all times).
I KNOW it's tough! Do they think this is a walk in the park for me? I understand I'm kind of a wild card in the life they built for themselves after the nest emptied, honest I do! But don't my feelings matter?
I'm loathe to bring up any of it, at the risk of sounding ungrateful. But I'm really feeling it, and it's getting really hurtful to me to have Dad so against Eppy. That's MY kid. Probably the only grandchild he's getting from THIS daughter any time soon, so can't he even TRY to see her good qualities? ARGH!
What do I do?! Am I just taking things too personally? I mean, Eppy is (as perhaps you can understand) kind of a weak spot for me. Just like Emma is for dad. I just don't know what else to do... today I snapped at Dad for talking about how "bad" Eppy is because she tried to eat the cat's food... for heaven's sake, it's wet food and it smells good, and I don't usually let her have it (Emma gets wet food at night) because of her teeth, of course she'll go for it! So I said "well Emma kills anything that moves!" and of course he said "well excuse me, she's a terrier and was bred for it!" SIGH.
I do not write in here very much. It's because I'm so busy! I have a lot to do; chasing the squirrels away, being a good watchdog and letting my people know EVERYTHING that is going on around the neighborhood, getting my belly rubbed, asking to have a toy thrown so I can shake it, and maximizing my sun-ray intake by napping near all the windows so that I can store enough heat to keep all this furry energy going.
Mommy had to get a new job in another town. So, I get to stay with Grandma, in the house I grew up in, until Mommy's new house is ready. I like Grandma's house very much. Sometimes I miss Mommy but she comes to see me on the weekends. Mommy says that when we get our new place I will have my very own little yard. That means I will not have to share with Grandma's cranky terrier. Ha Ha!
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