We have a new member of the family, and she's rather fun but yet a bit annoying at the same time. So, when people ask me what her personality is like, I tell them she's funnoying.
Her name is Junie. AKA Puppy, Juniper, Junie CC, and JuneBug. Several times a day I also hear her being addressed as, "Hey! What Do You Have In Your Mouth?"
When she first came to us she was VERY crazy, so instead of nick-naming her Junie B (like the children's book character), one of the boys started calling her Junie CC because, in their words, "she acts like she's on Crack Cocaine." I don't know what Crack Cocaine is, but it must generate a LOT of energy in an individual because Junie CC has enough to spread around. And around. And around...
One of the interesting things about Junie is that she is also black and white, just like myself and my older sister, Ellie. My mom says she looks like a farmer walking a herd of Holsteins when she takes all three of us out for a stroll.
Mom also said she needed to take in a third dog like she needed a hit on the head.
When Mom takes us for a walk, she holds Ellie and/or my flexi-leads in her left hand ("You two are the easy ones,") and Junie's flex-lead is held snugly in her right hand. Mom holds on TIGHT because Junie is constantly weaving back and forth, back and forth like a frenetic fish on the end of the line.
A walk that includes Junie includes lots of 'boinging'. Boing. Boing. Boing. Off to the right side of the road. Boing. Boing. Boing. Off to the left side and JUMP up onto the massive snow pile and Boing. Boing. Boing along the top. Then LEAP back to the street and chase a blowing leaf. Pivot and grab a bite of that brown, gooey stuff in the street ("Hey! What Do You Have In Your Mouth?!"). Then UP once more onto the pile of snow on the edge of the street and Boing. Boing. Boing until the cows come home.
Because we are now cows.
(Cows that sometimes sit on other cows.)
I would like to point out that Ellie and I were black and white BEFORE the puppy came along and Mom never called us cows. Somehow, however, the puppy's arrival increased our numbers to the point that Mom thought we were now a 'herd', and thus started calling us Holsteins (which are black and white cows for all you non-farm folks.)
"I feel like I'm driving a team of horses and have to keep all the reins straight," Mom says, "but it's like one of the horses is having a constant conniption." I often hear Mom back behind us muttering something about 'Mobile Macrame' or 'Crazy Cat's Cradle' because she's constantly weaving and unraveling the leashes as we go (and NOT because Ellie and I are the ones screeching back and forth from one side of the road to the other - Hint... think littlest cow...or horse...).
Ellie and I just trot along, not caring if we are a cow or a horse, or simply a dog like we were back in the good old days. We just like being outside. And if the puppy chooses to boing about behind us, back and forth, back and forth, tangling the leashes and creating consternation for the farmer, or the teamster, as it were, well, then, good for the puppy. We hope it tires her out a bit by the end of the trail.
Besides being crazy energetic, Junie has displayed a quirky trait that is unique and "Oh, so cute!" EXCEPT that this quirky trait involves ME. SOPHIE! It does not involve Ellie (who just turned thirteen years old) because Ellie flashes the Grumpy Grandma card every time, and thus the puppy has learned not to involve Ellie in her quirky business. But me, good ol' super chill Sophie? I am the Number One object of Junie's unorthodox obsession.
So just how eccentric are we talking here? Well, my friends, that crazy funnoying puppy SITS on me. Literally sits ON me, and not just once in a while. She does it all the time! She sits on me when I'm looking out at the back deck. When I'm relaxing in the kitchen waiting for food to drop. When I'm napping in my bed.
"That is so interesting," my veterinarian mom says, observing me being weighted down by the puppy. "I wonder why Junie does this unusual behavior. Is it for the warmth of another body? The sense of safety from being up higher than your surroundings? The comfort of hearing another heart beat or feeling the breathing of another being?"
I would like to point out that - as the dog on the underside of the cute little quirky puppy - there is more SQUISHING of breathing than feeling. But, if I'm totally honest, it isn't all bad. I, too, like to be close to other beings. I, too, will position myself so that my head is on a leg, a shoe, or a shoulder. There is comfort from being close. There is a peculiar peace that comes from gazing out at the world knowing that someone else is right there with you, seeing the same things, breathing the same air.
The puppy will also sit on Cora, our cousin dog. Cora is very good-natured and does not prevent Junie from using her for her height, or warmth, or whatever it is that Junie is seeking by playing her own unique version of Queen of the Hill.
In addition, if I'm otherwise occupied, Junie will not hesitate to sit on people.
So, yes, my friends, we have welcomed this new young dog into the fold. Does it help that Junie is the same color as Ellie and me? Yes! (Go Black and White!!) The colors that unite us also makes us part of the same team, or herd, or whatever animal group Mom has assigned us to today.
"Hey kids, remember. Don't leave anything on that coffee table where the dogs can get at it. They are all a bunch of PIGS."
Whatever, Mom...
In conclusion, let us consider these three questions.
Is three dogs a lot of dogs to have in a family?
Umm...Yes. I guess...
Is there a lot of fun, and love, and quirkiness in a house with three dogs?
Definitely! Yes!
Is the new puppy funnoying, especially when she sits on you ALL the time?
Umm...A little. But honestly, she ain't that heavy...she's my new sister.
