"...In the end, people either have excuses or experiences; reasons or results; buts or
brilliance. They either have what they wanted or they have a detailed list of all the rational reasons why not."

~ Anonymous
(taken from Matt Erbele's, It Takes Time to Get Good)

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Is it a sin....?

To covet thy neighbor's dog?

Meet my sponsor's new puppy Luna (short for lunatic)

 Taken on her first hike with Auntie RBR. Some say "Auntie", some say "puppynapper". Toe-may-toe, Toe-mah-toe. 

 Luna is an 8-month old, terrier mix puppy that my sponsor adopted from NARF (Nike Animal Rescue Foundation). She is stubborn, crazy, destructive, and I am totally and completely IN. LOVE. WITH. HER.

Couldn't you just die of the cuteness? Yes, I am holding a dog snack above her nose, but I prefer to think she would look just as adoringly at me without it.

My sponsor lost Roadie, her 11 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, about 4 months ago when he suddenly went into liver failure, stopped eating and had to be euthanized. Not to speak ill of the dead, and if you have read this blog you know that animals are very important to me, I love them all, but her dog, ....

was a seriously dangerous, NUT JOB.

Let's just say, that if anyone less kind, loving, and compassionate than my sponsor owned him he would have been guarding the gates of hell a LONG time ago.  In the interest of fairness, she has been my sponsor for almost 20 years now, I imagine if I had not also found her, you could say the very same thing about me.

My sponsor picked up Roadie (on the road, hence the name. Plus her husband is in a band. I know, I rolled my eyes too at the "coolness") as a lost 4 month old puppy. She was headed out of town for the weekend, so she asked me to take care of him for a few days. In that time I could tell that Roadie, even as a young puppy, had some dominance and aggression issues and I warned her that it was imperative that he be trained and socialized or he would be a problem. As it turned out, I was right. REALLY right.

Boston Terrier doing his best Anthony Hopkins. Priceless. Difference is Roadie was almost 100 pounds of psychopathic pooch.


My sponsor grew up on a farm where you let dogs, be dogs and she did not really see the importance of training. She also thought I was a bit obsessive about training with Lucy and that Lucy was overly controlled by me.

Not to be snarky, but I can have people over to my house and I am reasonably confident my dog will not rip their throats out if they make eye contact with her. If that is "overly controlled" I am ok with that.

 OK, fine, maybe she is a wee bit 'overly controlled.'

Anyhoo.... my sponsor wanted to avoid having that type of dog in her home for the next 11 years, so I was THRILLED that when she was ready to adopt she told me repeatedly that she would listen to anything I said and wanted me to help her pick her new dog.

Enter, Luna

We met her at a pet fair and she was the perfect dog for my sponsor and her family and ...

...for me. *sigh*

Before our hike we did a short walk at the park with Ms. Lucy (At 13 years young, Lucy is not much of a hiker anymore, but she was a BEAST in her day) and Luna was a perfect respectful young lady. She could blend right in to the family.
See?! She loves me!

Like the wingman that watches his buddy leave with the hot girl he spotted first and chatted up while screening for signs of excess emotional baggage or Fatal Attraction tendencies, I must sit idly by and watch MY dog go to puppy class with my sponsor. 

I have a full blown case of puppy fever.

 Hubby says, 'no', but this ain't my first rodeo. Stay tuned.

17 comments:

Unknown said...

I hate to say it, but I have the same pumpkin costume for my Rottie, Summer! Terriers are known for their energy. Luna should keep her busy! She's cute!

Ewa said...

I don't recall seeing "Thou shalt not covet your neighbor's dog" anywhere but maybe I am conveniently forgetting because I would covet Luna too.

Kate Geisen said...

That dog is adorable. Good luck achieving some suitable solution to your puppy lust. My husband would kill me if we got another dog, so I'll just enjoy your puppy pictures.

SteveQ said...

I've never known whether I should choose a dog by temperament or lifestyle (that'd be basset hound or scottish deerhound, I guess). Rhodesian Ridgebacks are all crazy; they're lion-hunting dogs and crazy is a requirement. My neigbors all have Westies and Bernese Mountain Dogs (soooooo cute!) and I could definitely go for the non-yappy of those two.

NARF? Isn't that from Pinky and the Brain?

Carly said...

Totally adorable. Almost makes me want a puppy. Almost.

Carolina John said...

that's a cute one allright!

Georgia Snail said...

Ridgebacks can be Crazy with a capital C but also can be great running partners...Luna is so cute makes me want to get in my car, drive to TN and slap my mom....

also, very cool that you've have the same sponser for over 20 years....

Generation X (Slomohusky) said...

If it is? I forgive you.

Plus all those who do the same over my now 14 week old Husky pup. EVERYONE wants to take her home. All it takes is one look.

I did find one I covet. A big beautiful full of sweetness St. Bernard I met a few days ago.

trailturtle said...

OK, when I want a dog, I'm going to ask you to pick one for me, too :).
That dog is adorable...
Happy to see this post...happy to see you out enjoying yourself!
Let me know if you might have any extra time and would like to run or ride mid-March.

Glaven Q. Heisenberg said...

Re: that last pic:

That's a nice looking b*tch!

Plus? The dog's not bad, either.

Lindsay said...

Did you finally join AA? Or am I confused about your sponsor. Or have you gone professional-runner on us??

Herself, the GeekGirl said...

SteveQ is wise. I have a Ridgeback. It is the biggest spaz that ever was. But I love her, and she makes me feel safe, despite her utter spazziness. Don't know if I could go for more dogness, though. One is enough for me.

Running Diva Mom said...

just found ya -- diggin your blog! :)

Aileen said...

PUPPY!!!!!!! WANT!!!!! Gah...

Aka Alice said...

The EARS....I want to snuggle with the puppy ears (and I'm not a dog person, and I'm pretty sure that's not a thing you would even want to do to a dog unless you want your nose bitten off) but that's my inclination because that is the cutest damn dog...

The EARS!

Jo Lynn said...

That is a damn cute puppy. Holy crap!

Southbaygirl said...

Luna is adorable!!!!! How lucky you are to be auntie RBR!!