17 March 2005

The Love of Low Dogs
TBogg has a splendid memorial to his first Bassett today, which moved me to post an almost-picture of our dachshund, below. Don't have any real ones of Noodles, but this comes awfully close. This household would be seriously diminished without him - he's friend, therapy dog, and an essential buffer between caregiver and patient. He has an uncanny ability to know who's most stressed on a given day, and distributes his services accordingly. I am amazed at his aplomb - not one of the yippy ones, and a perfect host to guest dogs - but his appetite for company (and being on top of any events) is insatiable.
Nearly all of his tricks are useful ones (he learned how to use carefully placed boxes as stairs to a bed in minutes), but he has his Dog of Mystery side. Used to break into an unused sitting room and battle the throw pillows from time to time - never saw him do it, just picked up the evidence and put them back in place. Not a mark on them, either. He saves fury for his toys, which he caches in 2 or 3 corners around the house. I gave up on squeaky toys that resembled animals of any kind, as he'd bite off the ears (and most of the head) within 24 hours and goodbye squeak. An unguarded paper towel is in danger, too.
I'm going to miss him when I move on, and I'll post a real portrait as soon as that's possible. He's worthy of the honor.