Well, he's The Hellcat's dog, actually. He's a nine year old dachshund named Colby. I'm an aunt, if you will. Colby was supposed to be spending the summer in The Pines. He had a share. I don't think Colby liked his housemates so it was decided that Colby could come here. Now you have to know, animals and babies adore me. I am endlessly fascinating to dogs, cats and infants of both sexes. It's not until the little boys grow up do they cease being interested in me. Colby can be a little skittish, largely because of the Hellcat's nomadic lifestyle I would think. But he's such a cute, expressive dog that I was instantly smitten. Now here he was in my house and even though I appreciate cats, I loves me my doggies. The only reason I never got one of my own was because I didn't want to be tied to caring for an animal. I wasn't sure I could. I'm still not.
Be that as it may Colby and I spent some immediate quality time together as The Hellcat went off "on a tangent" right after Colby arrived. As such, since Colby requires a human for some basics (food, water, walking), a go-to human was required. Number one, I just happened to be around. Number two, dogs can sense who is receptive to them by body language, tone of voice and other signals. Number three, dogs can suss out who "owns" the space they are in and because of that natural pack mentality they are born with, if you let the dog know it's welcome in your pack, they respond immediately. And to top it all off, a thunderstorm rolled in on our first day together. Colby, like many dogs, is afraid of thunder. Again I became the go-to human as he went into full "hide me" mode. Our bond was complete.
Additionally, as it turns out, The Ex is so not a dog person it's hysterical. Not all that surprising as his empathic abilities are next to nil. Forget trying to figure out why the dog is barking. Just yell "shut up" at it six or seven times. That oughta do the trick. Is it any surprise that during the initial "getting used to each other" phase that The Ex was the one to step in dog shit? Not that the Colbster is badly trained. I've found that if you get him on a regular walking/eating/shitting schedule that he goes outside like he should. The problem is, The Hellcat is not just on a late schedule. Any dog could adjust to bartender time. (Something that hadn't occurred to me, dogs don't care if it's 4 am when you walk them as long as you walk them.) The problem is The Hellcat will go on a drug and/or sex binge, and seemingly "hope for the best" when it comes to seeing to Colby's needs. So I've taken to backstopping him. That's not a complaint. I'm enjoying it. And The Hellcat has surmised (rightly so) that I will take on the role. The pecking order is clearly defined by Colby himself. When The Hellcat is up and around Colby prefers his company and follows him everywhere. When he's away or not coherent and Colby is left on his own, I become the benevolent aunty. I get him food and take him for walks and make sure he has water. He curls up on the couch with me if I'm watching TV. He frequently hops up on my lap while I'm surfing the net and blogging. I love having him around. So much so that I'm seriously thinking about getting one of my own. I'm not in a rush, maybe I'll get one while Colby and The Hellcat are here. Maybe I'll wait until when/if they leave. I've absolutely fallen in love with this breed. How many times a day do I want to say "labradoodle"? Many. But knowing me I'll probably rescue a mutt rather than buy a breed. Not too surprising, considering it's what I do with humans. What's a good name for a labradoodle?
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