Puppy Fever!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Suzann's recent discussion asking for puppy pictures, is giving us all puppy fever. I think it we don't show the other side of the coin, we are soon going to have Carol, Banjo and Cello....Anna, Achilles and Aphrodite....Ricki, Tara, and Laurie....Donna, Quincy and Limerick...Jane, Rooney, and Gable...and the list could go on and on. I am trying to stay strong, so I don't end up with Fudge, Vern, and Frito. March is the month I brought both my puppies home and I found both my pups over the internet and fell in love with their pictures. One picture was all it took and now I have two dogs.LOL

When I first brought Fudge home, it had been 15 years since we had a puppy and I forgot all the work involved. I guess with the first one, I was busy raising my family and one more little puppy didn't seem like such a big deal when I was raising two girls. This time around, I had declared that there would be no more dogs in our future, and then I found Fudge's picture on the internet and fell in love. We were practically empty nesters and could have any life we wanted, and one picture convinced me I needed a dog :) 

I just found a copy of my Christmas letter the year we got Fudge and had to laugh when I read what I had written:

 

The last time we had a puppy was over fifteen years ago and it is amazing how one little puppy can be so tiring.  Fudge slept in a crate next to my side of the bed and I heard every noise she made throughout the night.  When she wasn’t making noise, I would worry something was wrong.  Since she is so dark, I could not see her in the crate and took to sleeping with a flashlight, so I could check on her periodically.  The only problem with that plan was I would doze off and lose the flashlight in the bed and have to either turn on the light or search frantically in the dark.  I was waking everyone up with all the activity and scaring John with all the groping under the covers.  Several times he yelled, “that’s not the flashlight” and even in my dazed stupor I figured that out right away.  The lack of sleep was also starting to affect my appearance and my cheerful disposition. 

 

In the mornings, I took to walking Fudge in the nearby cornfield in my robe and rubber boots and usually forgot to comb my hair on the way out the door.    John viewed this as an opportunity to hone his comedic skills… “Hallmark called and Maxine wants her clothes back…..did you run into Dorothy, the Tin Man, and the Lion on your walk?...if the look you are going for is disheveled, scary woman, you nailed it yet again.”  Finally, I just said, “I didn’t know Soupy Sales had a brother Stupy” and he quit for awhile.  I think he was almost afraid to come home from work each day and open the door.  I know what everyone is thinking, but this was different.  One night, when he got home from work, I told him I was so tired I could not remember if I showered that day.  He said he had a hint for me, if I had; I had not done a very good job. Another day, he kept looking at my chest and finally said, “What is happening here?”  When I explained that Fudge had chewed my good, very expensive, bra and I tried to fix it, so I would not have to throw it away, he said if the bra was supposed to lift and separate, I was O for 2.  Several times, I caught John and Hayley plugging their noses when I walked by, and when I asked them why they kept doing that, John said, “we had one more option, but Hayley didn’t think she could hold you, while I wiped you down with tomato juice.”  It did take awhile, but I started to adjust to the new routine and turned to John one evening and said, “Guess what?  I took a long shower tonight.  I think you know what that means.”  It was hard to hear what he was saying, because he was way over on his side of the bed and had the sheets pulled up over his nose.   I think he said he hoped it meant the health department had finally acted on an “anonymous” tip and stopped by the house.

 

I brought Fudgie home in March of 2009, and you know what happened? Somewhere between the puppy biting stage, the sleepness nights, the worries about her not eating....I fell in love. It had probably already started with that one picture. I wrote this letter in November of 2009 and by January, 2010, was looking for another PUPPY. Like childbirth, which I swore not to do again, I forgot and did it again :) Just like Fudge, I fell in love with Vern 's picture and the anticipation of holding him and loving him and that is exactly what happened. So, I might have to stop looking at those puppies for a couple of days because I am getting PUPPY FEVER. How about you??

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We had a pre-Vern yard and a post-Vern yard.....since Vern has joined our family, we now have no grass and some rather large holes. Plus, he has managed to pull most of the ground cover sheet out from under our rocks. Landscaping by Vern leaves something to be desired.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Laurie, yes I do think I LMAO and PMP yet again with one of your posts.  This is a very unique (and hysterical) Christmas letter.  I usually am not to fond of XMAS letters, but this one is in a class all by itself!  Yes, I have puppy fever, but here's how I'm handling it.....

He looks and feels like a Doodle puppy.  I've rubbed him all over Guinness and Murph, so he even smells like a Dood.  He never has to go out in the night and he doesn't cry or bark....EVER.  He's totally housebroken and he doesn't need any home cooked food....he doesn't need any food.  He doesn't pull on the leash, nip or jump.  He looks innocent...because he is!  I love this puppy.  Murph and Guinness are very jealous....they want him out of here.  So, thank you Bocker for giving me my puppy fix and preserving my sanity.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Vern is staring at me as I am writing. This is his 10th trip around the bed...who knows what he wants? Where is Bocker when I need him?? I could just toss him into another room :) I write this same kind of Christmas letter every year and I keep notes, so now when my family sees me writing they yell, "THAT is not going into the Christmas letter." They never learn :)

[Suzann, Rosey & Bandit]

Hi Bocker!! Tell your mom to put your picture in the Baby Pics post!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Linnea, Didn't we just help you name Baxter when you got puppy fever a few months ago?? LOL  It is almost like you had twins.

[Jodi and Stella]

I think Stella has cured me of puppy fever for awhile. She was a lot of fun, but a lot of work as well. At 8 months old she is still a puppy but there is so much more I can do with her now.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

One is so much easier to travel with and take places, but I wouldn't trade my two, not even after the week we have had.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Hey, Laurie, don't you mean Fudge, Vern and RICKI???

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I just knew that one line would get your attention. My next dog is gonna be named Lauricki, for sure.

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

This letter is hysterical.  Laurie you could do a stand up routine!!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Thank you! I had to write something for my daughter's wedding at her request and I found it very nerve wracking to stand up before 175 people and try and say something funny. It was a lot of pressure and I begged her to not make me do it. As usual, she had no sympathy for me :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're not alone. Fear of speaking in public is supposedly the number one fear, ranking higher than fear of death according to studies. Or to put it in a funnier way:

"Jerry Seinfeld got a big laugh when he joked about a survey that found that the fear of public speaking ranks higher in most people's minds than the fear of death. "In other words," he deadpanned, "at a funeral, the average person would rather be in the casket than giving the eulogy."

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994670-1,00.html#i...