Monday, March 13, 2006

Bugsy

Twelve-and-a-half years ago when I was a volunteer at the local animal shelter, two mama dogs came in with a litter of 15 puppies. They arrived together, and it was impossible to tell which pup belonged to which bitch who appeared to possibly have been littermates themselves. Puppies go fast in shelters, everyone wants one (sadly, the older dogs - who are trained and have manners - are often passed by in favor of puppies), but one lone pup remained after 14 of the 15 were adopted. So I called my sister's roommate at the time and asked him if he minded if I gave her a puppy for her birthday that year. So I adopted this guy, put a big red bow around his neck, and took him over to my parents' house where we were having my sister's birthday dinner. Because my hands were full, I rang the doorbell at the house, and I distinctly remember my father opening the door and looking down at Bugsy in my arms, a big smile spreading across his face, making him look like the young boy he once was.

Fast-forward 12.5 years. Bugsy will be 13 this May, and here he is looking every bit the distinguished gentleman he is, photographed just last night at my sister's house. He loves this chair and blanket, the infamous "Mickey blanket." It depicts Mickey Mouse and is made of soft fleece. It's Bugs' favorite.

Bugsy shares my sister's attention with two cats, but his favorite thing is to come over to my house with her to hang out. That way, he has her full attention (my cats don't count to Bugsy because he recognizes that they are my domain, not his mama's). I also have more space, and he loves to stretch out on my sofas. Actually, his favorite thing to do is to jump on my black velvet chaise, the one thing he is not allowed on. But he quietly climbs up on it every time he's over and stays on it until he gets caught.

7 Comments:

At Monday, March 13, 2006 10:02:00 PM, Blogger GetFlix said...

Ahhhh, he's a good fellow. My boy is getting up there. He's pushing 9 or 10. (I am so bad with dates!) I found an old picture of him today, and I felt like I was in a time machine.

 
At Tuesday, March 14, 2006 3:39:00 PM, Blogger Mike V. said...

I love Bugsy!

Bless you for taking care of animals.

 
At Tuesday, March 14, 2006 6:47:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I'm rich, and I have a huge house with a huge amount of land, I'm going to get myself an Irish Wolfhound. I shall wrestle with him, and he will probably win.

It'll be glorious!

 
At Wednesday, March 15, 2006 8:05:00 PM, Blogger Not-So-Naughty Voyeur said...

What a sweet doggie :) No way I could ever work at a shelter. I get sad just driving by them! My husband and I have adopted a few adult dogs from shelters, I love the older smarter ones that just want to hang out. My son adopted Rocky, and he was a puppy. I want to string him up!! And I just might :)

 
At Wednesday, March 15, 2006 10:39:00 PM, Blogger Leo Tolstoy said...

Wow, he is a beautiful boy LA.....His eyes say so much. :)

 
At Thursday, March 16, 2006 8:40:00 PM, Blogger LA said...

Everyone - thanks for all the kind words about Bugs. He's a good boy, and I guarantee he'd love to meet all of you!

b - That story is ridiculous! That dog weighs 200 pounds! Between fat Rotties and one of my favorite authors living there (David Lodge), I'm packing my bags! Will you fix me tea?

 
At Thursday, March 16, 2006 8:42:00 PM, Blogger LA said...

p.s.

ffleur - your childhood dog sounds so sweet.

NV - I love the name Rocky!

 

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