So yeah, I got a new puppy! Being that I’m “CrazyDogMama” this probably isn’t surprising, however nothing in my life EVER goes as planned, and this turned out to be a pretty funny story. I have to give you a little bit of background first, and then the lead-up to getting the puppy so that it all makes sense and you get the full effect, so stay with me and then we’ll get to the cute-overload part, OK?
Since I lost Louie and Maggie – the Cairn Terriers who changed my life – I haven’t been the same. Me without fuzzies is like pancakes without syrup. After moping around for months after Maggie’s passing at Christmas, I found a Cairn Terrier breeder in Arizona (it can be hard to find Cairn Terriers on the West Coast) and the pups were due in early March 2016, which meant a puppy for me some time in May. Hooray! Why Cairn Terriers, you ask? Well, that is a long story, but here is the short(er) version for you. My parents got a Maltese puppy in 1999 (after having only poodles for the longest time), and at that time I was living dog-less in a small apartment. I was so puppy-smitten, that I went to visit my parents every day for 2 weeks to play with the pup, and my dad sarcastically remarked “We haven’t seen you this much since you were born!”. Ha. I decided I needed a dog of my very own (it would be my first) and researched what kind might work best for me. I really liked the idea of a Jack Russell Terrier, and I went to the place my parents got their pup (a pet store – yikes) looking to see if they had one. They didn’t have a Jack Russell, but the crazy old lady that owned the store (“Red” – I’ll never forget her) convinced me a Cairn Terrier would be a much better fit for a full-time working apartment dweller, and of course she just happen to have one for sale. Little Louie was licking the glass when I first laid eyes on him. And that’s all it took. He smelled like pepper and he was a fuzzy hot mess. Perfect.
Red did not tell me about the Cairn Terrier reputation (she probably didn’t know), and the chaos that ensued upon getting Louie is hard to describe in one post – which is the reason why I started my first blog in 2003. Cairn Terriers, you see, are not normal dogs. Toto from the ‘Wizard of Oz’ is a famous Cairn Terrier – and you may think oh-how-cute, but YOU JUST DON’T KNOW. You can read everything you can get your hands on for training and obedience, but if it isn’t specifically for CAIRNS, you may as well just chuck it out the window because you will be spinning your wheels. I don’t know exactly WHY they are so different, but they are – I can attest to it – I’m on my third one. I’m a glutton for punishment, I suppose. But in reality, they are very trainable, you just have to know HOW, and have the patience of a Saint. If you are thinking of getting a Cairn (you may change your mind by the end of this post, but I hope not) here are some invaluable sources: http://www.cairnterriersavvy.com/ and http://www.doglogicwithbarbara.com/ The latter source features Barbara LeFever, who saved my sanity after I got Maggie in 2001. She has some amazing Cairns, and they are her personal dog of choice. All of the hair-pulling frustration is worth it, though, I promise – Cairns are truly the funniest and coolest dogs on the planet. They make me laugh every single day, and having them in my life got me to where I am today – no kidding. I wouldn’t be doing what I love (writing and blogging) if it weren’t for the antics and life lessons they have taught me. They were also my heart through some very dark days.
But enough of THAT – let’s get to the NEW PUPPY!
My puppy was scheduled to be picked up on Sunday, May 1st, in Congress, Arizona. I was so excited and the wait was killing me, so we left Saturday from Orange County and spent the night at Dale’s place on the Colorado River near the Arizona border to make the trip less exhausting. I had been communicating with the breeder (Mary) for two months, and we decided on a feisty female out of the litter of six pups. Mary sent me pictures and updates each week, and we even picked out a name (Mavis Louise) and got all the necessary puppy stuff ahead of time to make the process easier. (Easier, HAHAHA!) I got a cute collar and name tag, a pink leash, a bunch of toys, bedding, treats and grooming/cleaning supplies. I also posted the pics and news all over Instagram, Facebook and even here on my website. If you’ve never been to Congress, Arizona, well – you aren’t missing much. It is literally out in the middle of nowhere. I do love the desert, though, so I snapped a few pics on the way – plus one of my handsome chauffeur. 🙂
We got to Mary’s house around 11 am on Sunday, and it was chaos. She still had four of the puppies (running around on her gated porch), and her husband, sister and 3 or 4 friends were there too, and they were just finishing up a big breakfast. The puppies were SO FREAKING CUTE and of course were very excited to meet us. I sat down on the porch and soaked up all the puppy kisses as long as I could, then did the paperwork so we could be on our way. I also got to meet the pup’s daddy – who was such a handsome boy! As you can see, the pups all look alike. It was hard to take photos of them because they were hyper as hell, and I kept having to ask which one was ours. Mary grabbed our Mavis and handed her to me, we took a few more pictures, then we headed for home. Our little bundle of joy sat in my lap and chewed on my fingers for about 30 minutes, then fell asleep on the floor at my feet for the remainder of the 5 hour trip home – we were all exhausted.
After arriving home, we played and played and laughed and took pictures and videos and more pictures. Then, while giving Mavis a little tummy scratch, I noticed something odd. Mavis has a penis. I was a little confused, and my first reaction was NAH, that couldn’t be! About 5 minutes later I got a call from a panicked Mary. I had Mavis’ brother by mistake. Oh shit!! LOL!!! She apologized profusely and we had a good laugh over the fact that it took us both so long to notice. Especially me. But why would I check? I had trusted the process and was just so happy to finally have my puppy. She offered to drive Mavis out to us immediately, but as I looked over at the silly boy sleeping on his back with his little feet in the air and plant debris hanging out of his pie hole, I thought I love him already, how can I give him back? I told Mary we were really happy with him, and if it didn’t upset anyone, we wanted to keep him. I mean come on, LOOK AT HIM!!! I told her it was fate. It was meant to be. You can’t argue with the Universe, and it wasn’t like we took the wrong baby home from the hospital. She was so relieved we weren’t mad. So it all worked out in the end, and I’m almost finished exchanging all the pink ‘girlie’ items (I don’t want to give him a complex) and got him a new name tag. It took us three days to stop calling him “Mavis” and saying “he” instead of “she”. It messed with our heads!
So, Meet JACK, our fateful pup!
Jack is a handful. It’s been 15 years and I’ve forgotten how much WORK a puppy is! I think I lost 3 pounds the first week chasing his little fuzzy ass around. Jack is teething, so he tries to eat EVERYTHING. Constantly. Fingers, toes, plants, mail, earrings, hair, Kleenex, flowers, socks, you name it. He climbs into the dishwasher, the dryer and the pantry when you are using them. He steals the laundry, namely my lingerie. He can get through the bars on the doggy gate. Forget doing any activity that doesn’t involve Jack, like reading, watching TV, driving or going to the bathroom. He likes to run from you when you call him. He screams when he doesn’t get his way. Doesn’t bark, SCREAMS. He plays in his water dish with his paws and throws water all over the kitchen like a cat. He eats his poop every chance he gets. When he has an accident inside, he of course walks in it and tracks it all over. He brings sticks 10 times his size into the house. He likes to sit in the middle of his toy box and play, then dump it over. It looks like a tornado hit the house at the end of the day with toys every-goddamn-where. It has taken me a week to write this post because if I take one eyeball off of him, it is a disaster. Dale is in the fetal position currently. Welcome to Cairn Terriers I told him…hehehe!
I will be uploading photos of Jack to Instagram on a regular basis, so be sure to follow us! If you have a funny puppy story, I’d love to hear it! Don’t be shy. 🙂
1 Comment
Great pics!!! So cute!