Puppy Sitting

About a month ago, I spent a weekend puppy-sitting for one of the animal caretakers here. I had been contemplating fostering a puppy for the sake of my geriatric Bichon who is developing cognitive dysfunction syndrome and needs an "interactive toy." He has always loved puppies so I thought it might be a good idea although I was far from ready to commit to a puppy given that I'm not that fond of the little ones and prefer to adopt troubled adults or even geriatrics with multiple health problems.

Daphne is a 4 week old Bassett Hound / Rat Terrier mix who was orphaned and bottle raised from about 2 weeks of age. She is eating on her own and already learning the house-training skills. In short, she was really adorable and fun. She reminded me very quickly, however, why I don't like puppies. The quote from Shrek about babies pooping and crying, etc. then comparing to an ogre baby is very appropriate.

I took her to the apartment with me on Friday evening. My dogs loved her (except one who wanted nothing to do with her) and she was doing well. The cats mostly ignored her except Pistol who thought she was really cool. On Saturday, the entire outlook changed. My Bichon, the primary reason for her being there, decided he wanted no part of her and got angry every time she came near or dared to touch him at all. On Sunday, the wind had shifted again and he liked her again. Go figure - I have no rational explanation.

This experience made me appreciate the grandparents' house idea; it was a lot of fun to spoil the puppy then send it back home and shuck the responsibility entirely. The pictures show Daphne napping then, on Sunday, napping with the boys. Too bad the interactive toy idea was a little bit of a bust. I tried to include a video of Pistol playing with Daphne but couldn't get it to work right. At least he enjoyed her visit!