(At this point, some of my friends who worry about me and my single status are going, "What?! Hallelujah! What's his name??!! When can we meet him? Oh, we told you there was one out there for you!!")
Hold your horses, people. Yes, his snoring keeps me up at night, and I adore him to no end, but he walks on 4 legs, not 2.
The new male in my life is Obi, the Pug:
Come on, this can't be a surprise. You know I always say I can trust giving my heart to the 4 legged guys much easier than overcoming the caution I have with the 2-legged ones. You never have to wonder how the 4 legged ones feel about you. They just come up and slobber all over your face, and that's much easier to figure out.
I've actually carried a torch for Obi from the moment I first met him 6 years ago. I found him for my nephew, Cody, who was 12 years old at the time. My friend, Kay, happens to breed and show fabulous Pugs, and Obi is the son of one of her dogs.
We didn't know it at the time, but Cody soon developed an allergy to dogs with coats like a Pug's. The Norwegian Elkhound coat doesn't bother him at all, but it's a very different type of coat. While Obi loved Cody, he equally loved Cody's Mom, my sister Tami, so the fact that Cody couldn't nuzzle and wrestle with him, didn't really bother him that much.
As Cody grew up, his desire to have his own Elkhound grew as well, and a year and a half ago, the opportunity presented itself for me to buy a very nice male Elkhound puppy to show. It ended up that Cody and I decided to co-own the dog, now known as Espen, and that he would live with Cody and be his dog, and then I would show him.
Cody and Espen have this amazing bond.....a bond that did NOT sit well with Obi. He did a, "What is THIS?!! What am I?--Chopped liver?!"
It was actually quite cute when Espen first arrived, because for a very small period of time, he was actually a bit shorter than Obi, and during that period, all was well. Obi did the old, "Here kid, I'll show you the ropes" and Espen willingly followed along, all wide-eyed puppy. But in no time, he was taller than Obi, and Espen has this very confident, arrogant swagger about him (no doubt taught to him BY Obi) that you just knew would likely not mix well, if Obi countered with his own arrogant swagger. Espen meant well, and genuinely loved to play with Obi, but by now, Obi had a jealous chip on his shoulder and was ready to lash out.
In recent months, his jealously of Espen was getting more intense, and Espen would put up with a lot from Obi, literally turning the other cheek to ignore Obi, but at times Obi would get nasty enough to where Espen would have enough and lash out. Our fear was that something could happen and we knew the one who would come out on the short end was Obi.
Oddly enough, Obi has no issues with my Elkhounds, but then again, it's nothing like the scenario he had where Espen came in to compete for the attention of Cody. When I saw what was happening, I gave it a lot of thought, and finally said, "Why don't we see how Obi would do at my place with my dogs."
So, about a month ago, Obi packed his crate, his "blankies", and this toys, and joined my crew. Thankfully, he fit in beautifully from day one. Now, don't get me wrong, he still believes he's a bad-ass, but no one else does. Saber, who is almost 10, and the "Lead Dog," gives Obi a look that says, "Really??! Are you serious? Please!" and turns his back on him, and Obi has truly figured it out, and basically gives Saber a wide path. He's much the same with Paige, and with old Miniature Poodle, Savannah, he actually likes to sleep beside her on the couch. The one he does push around, and the one who lets him...for now...is 1 year old, Aksel. He does a, "Sure, whatever you say, Obi!" As long as Aksel can swallow his pride and keep doing that, they'll get along just fine. Time will tell, and I'm sure I'll have to keep my eye on the two of them, but they're getting along fine now.
Me? I love, love, LOVE the dog. I almost feel guilty about it. Like I said, I've always adored him, so I was truly giddy when I got to bring him home, and in all honesty, I think he's happier. The situation with Cody having a new dog in his life really was a hard thing for Obi to handle with how obsessed he was with Cody, and he doesn't have to struggle with anything like that now. He knows his place in the gang at my house.
That place is usually next to me each evening, snoring....LOUDLY.
Rest assured, everybody: There's still room for a 2-legged male to loudly snore next to me.
I think Obi will move over and make room.
No comments:
Post a Comment