Well as much as our dogs, Zeus and Zoe, drive me completely batshit insane, now that we’re thinking about finding them a new home I’m feeling a little nostalgic. I hate the incessant barking, whining, digging up the yard, Zeus having to be constantly watched because he’ll pee in the house, and Zoe’s skittishness. I really loathe that stuff- it angers me severely – but now that we’re seriously contemplating finding them a new home I can’t help but reflect on the fun times (as infrequent as they were) they brought us over the years.
Zeus is fun to play with because he gets so intense. He loves to eat stuffed animals, especially ones with a squeaker inside. He’s so tenacious about his play. When he was -ahem- less heavy, he’d clamp down on his rope or stuffed duck and we could actually lift him off the ground, him hanging there by his mouth. He’d hang on for as long as he could, growling quietly while we laughed and encouraged him to hang on.
Oh and I can’t forget about the RC racecar. That thing goes 20 mph and can turn on a dime, meaning there’s no possible way he could ever catch it. But he tried with ever fiber of his being! He wouldn’t give up, running at full speed all over the parking lot trying to catch that little car. Sometimes I thought he was panting so hard that his heart was about to stop!
And then there’s Zoe. She’s always been a pain in the ass, let’s be honest here. But since she is so needy she makes a great lap dog. When I was having a rough time emotionally (and I mean very rough time) a couple of years ago I’d let Zoe sit next to me on the couch. She really did make good company when I was sad and visibly upset. She’d just cuddle up next to me and lay calmly, looking at my face as if she knew something was wrong. It’s weird to say, but when there was literally nothing else to comfort me, there was Zoe doing the job effectively.
It’s unfortunate to say, but all the fun times with the dogs came before Julia. Now we simply don’t have the time to devote to them anymore between jobs, Julia, and attempting to have at least a minuscule slice of “me time.” Lately it’s been ‘put them outside,’ or barricaded in the laundry room so we don’t have to keep constant tabs on them. When they’re out Zoe is harassed by Julia, the overzealous and excited toddler who still doesn’t know how to handle anything gently. Zeus growls and gets snappy, and we can’t risk him biting Julia. They need attention that we’re just not giving them.
So I don’t know what will happen… are we really going to do this? I guess we’ll see, but either way it’s going to be hard.
