The Puppy Grand!

Here he is, Guardian of the Weak, Entertainer of the Bored, and Destroyer of all things Squeaky: Skippyjon Jones Rogers! While I should be writing a blog about my newly-minted three-year-old, Delaney, and all the cute and defiant things that she does, I am instead choosing to write about our pup. We adopted our "used dog" this summer from a family that could no longer keep him due to his prowess at chasing (and presumably, catching) chickens. He is around two years old, something like a Pomeranian, and basically just a total fur-ball.

He came with the name "Mickey" but what fun is getting a dog, if you can't name it? So, I never told the kids his name and let them name him instead. First rule of pet adoption: don't let the kids name the pet. I really underestimated how humiliating it would be to run down the street in my pj's and flip-flops yelling, "Skippyjon, Skippyjon, get your furry little a** back here!" That brings me to our little guy's one bad habit: he's a runner. While he is normally the laziest, most laid-back little fella, there is something about the great outdoors and the myriad of sights, smells, and live bait (did I mention that he was given away because he likes to chase birds) that just turns him into a hyperactive little freak. Luckily, he's got a bum knee and asthma, so I can usually catch him after a block or two.

All in all, he has fit into our household perfectly. He enjoys camping, car rides, and swims in the river. When Delaney first introduced him to my parents, she said, "This is Skippyjon, your puppygrand!" He is officially a "cabin dog" and gets as excited as the "big boys" (all the other dogs in the extended family) to ride in the back of Grandpa Steve's pick-up and roll in dead fish at my family's mountain place. There was one brief incident where he attempted to chase turkeys while tethered into the back of the pick-up and ended up dangling over the side for a while, but everything turned out fine... He seems to think that the tree fort that my dad built for the grandkids was specially designed for his enjoyment since he quickly races up the stairs to the top then barks to be carried back down (we really need to design a harness and hoist system for him). And, while he can't manage to jog more than a mile with me at home, when he is at the cabin he will happily run alongside the fourwheelers all day long.

In addition to being in a three-way tie for the "Best Snuggler in the House" honors, the flying furball has proven himself as a fierce protector (really!). I had an encounter with a prowler in my backyard a few weeks ago, and Skippyjon chased after the jerk, barking his most intimidating bark, and I think would have bitten the guy's pervy little booty if he could have gotten there fast enough. Luckily, the idiot ran off and doesn't seem to have come back since, probably because of Skippy's quick and decisive action, since I stood there screaming like someone who was really freaked out to find a stranger in their backyard! And since that day, Skippyjon enters the backyard barking and does a speedy loop around the perimeter before he settles in to take care of more pressing matters. Love the guy!