A Toast to Me!

After a hard day's work

Corky is not a big dog, but he is a quick one!  Every morning Corky and I go for a walk.  Mostly so that he can take care of business, but I make sure we take the long way around so that he can time to adequately bug the crap out of the squirrels and birds hiding in the trees and bushes.  Every time he spots a squirrel climbing up a tree, he dutifully claws at the tree as if to protest at the fact that he can’t climb it himself.  Then when he eyes a bird, he chases and then leaps as if he’s about to take off for flight.  I can only imagine what is going through his mind when he realizes that he doesn’t climb trees and that flying isn’t one of his strengths. This weekend he wasn’t deterred and he must have woken up determined.

Sunday morning we went for our usual walk over to the park.  On the way there, he spotted a pack of 3 birds hanging out near the bushes.  As I usually do when he spots something to chase, I let out the leash to give him a full 16 foot runway.  He takes off and…. he catches a bird!  OH MY GOSH!  HE CAUGHT ONE!   He drops it at my feet and I feel so bad for the little bird.  Wait.. um, Corky, why are you bringing it to me?????  I immediately shirk, but then remember that Corky has brought me a gift, so I pick Corky up and rub his neck to sing his praises.  As I’m looking past Corky, the little bird stands up, unruffles its feathers and starts to hobble away. (Thank goodness the little bird was ok!)

As you can imagine, Corky’s pride soared!  He had just transformed from a 12 lb Chihuahua to a 30 lb flushing spaniel right before my eyes.  After all, he had proven himself to be a hunter – daring game to fly before his path. For the rest of the day, he was alert and ready.  He walked a little taller and even added a little bounce in his step as if to say, “I am Corky…. arrrrr”.

Random Corky

Sometimes life is about compromise, other times it’s just about letting things sort out on their own.  Wow, ok, that’s a little deep — but today I find myself being reminded that I can’t control everything – or even anything for that matter.  The past couple of weeks I’ve had the pleasure, and the challenge, of introducing a puppy into my household.  A cute – 1 year old Chihuahua mix puppy who is so sweet and really just wants to cuddle (and run around and play and eat my shoes, and pull the toilet paper off the roll — oh wait, focus!  He’s so sweet ). It shouldn’t be daunting, I mean it’s just a puppy right?  Well, here’s what you may not know:  I have a roommate and he has a dog – a big dog — a 70ish pound dog — a boxer.  I think she’s a pussy cat, my roommate thinks she’s a “killer”.  Ok, this could be a minor issue.

So when I bring Corky home, my roommate agrees that he’ll keep an open mind and will work with me on introducing Corky to Lacey.  Surprise!  Lacey isn’t hungry and Corky is allowed to live!  Happy times because that makes my life SO much easier!

So now we’re in week 2, Corky is no longer scared — actually he’s starting to display true “puppy” like behavior.  He wants to play — Lacey, well she probably just really wants him to take a nap.  I, on the other hand, get a little stressed trying to make sure that my roommate is ok with the situation – that Corky stays off of Lacey’s bed (because I mean seriously, why should I expect him to stay on his measly twin-sized doggie bed when there’s a  king-sized doggie bed to lounge on across the living room floor?), that Lacey has her space, that my roommate doesn’t feel that his life has been imposed upon by my stubborn need to have a new puppy enter the house.

So, now we’re in week 3.  Lacey has just come home from vacationing at his grandma’s house for the long weekend.  Corky has had his run of the house.  Roommate is home — and my stress level is rising -  new rule:  he’d feel more comfortable if Corky stayed off the couch.  Ok, to be honest, I’d feel more comfortable is Lacey didn’t poop on the balcony — BUT there are things I just can’t control.

So I went walking this morning to process everything and I’ve come to a decision.  I’m going to just let things be.  If Corky jumps on the couch as part of his marathon course to strategically steal Lacey’s bone (the one she’s actually gnawing on at that moment), then so be it.  If Lacey decides that Corky has overstepped his boundaries and she decides to swat at him, so be it.  If my roommate is upset with me because I can’t keep the dogs peacefully co-existing 105% of the time, so be it.  In the meantime — it’s a beautiful morning.  I’m going to go outside, move Lacey’s poop to the other side of the balcony (actually just outside his door, hehehe) sit at the table, under the umbrella and drink my coffee.

Random, Red, Reflections, Weight Watchers Corky, dog

Today I went out and picked up the cutest little puppy!  Ok, we’ll he’s 2 years old, or so his paperwork said.  I found him at a local animal shelter, the Castaic location of our very own Department of Animal Care and Control , that was full of beautiful dogs looking for humans to call their own.  I walked down the row of dogs, trying not to look at them on the off chance of bringing them all home with me, until I reached kennel 23.  #23 was the temporary house of two little chihuahua mixes — one tan, the other black.  I asked to spend time with the tan one.

Needless to say, he came home with me today.  Amongst all the foreseeable obstacles, I decided to illicit the help of friends to tackle one of those obstacles — selecting a name.   Suggestions included:  Corky, Petite Sirah, Zin, Rocketman, Hunt, Blog, Magnum, Tannin, Jed, Atlas, Rex, Che, Cab, Cabbie, Blog, Monte, & Malbec.  Of course, I favored the ones relating to wine!  Kym, all of your suggestions rocked!

With so many choices, I asked my family to vote on their favorites.  With a 3-1-1 vote, “Corky” won!  “Tannin” and “Magnum” both received one vote each.

So it is with pleasure that I introduce to you — Corky!

Random Corky, dog