Having a new puppy in the house is much like having a new baby in the house. Usually, with a new baby, one has time to prepare the home beforehand. With a surprise puppy there were no beforehand preparations.
As with new human babies, the house is now littered with many toys and lots of small blankets. Jack Russell Terriers love lots of small blankets. There are many times during the day that I have observed a small blanket flying through the kitchen on its way to be pounced upon in front of the heat register in the office.
There are also lots of child/dog safety gates in the house now, especially since Runtly has already taken two trips down the basement stairs. The trips were neither pretty nor graceful. But, as I watched in horror as he bounced off of each step, I breathed a sigh of relief when he finally got to the basement floor. He hopped up and took off for a new adventure. The basement has lots of things to investigate.
I'm not sure who is training who. My initial goal was to house train Runtly, with an area that is considered the doggy bathroom. The recent Arctic Vortex that has hit the area has temperatures in the single digits and windchill factors below zero. Runtly is tiny, with very short hair and I thought it much too cold to take him out. Actually, it's much too cold for me. This morning though, I relented and took him out as soon as I got up.
While we were out and Runtly was sniffing every leaf in the yard, I heard a woeful sound. It was Tigger. Tigger rarely meows but when he does it usually means he wants in......or, he wants out. Tigger and the queen cat, Pussycat, stay in the garage in my small heated shop at night. Pussycat is old and hasn't seen the outside for days. She is purrfectly happy to stay in her straw filled box and wile away the cold days in near hibernation.
Tigger was supposed to be in the shop and I could not figure out where he was or what he might be trapped in. As I came around the end of the garden, I heard him again. Runtly was still tagging along behind, with his sniff-o-meter nose turned on its highest setting. Another loud wail from the cat and I located him. He was still in the shop, sitting in the window......that he had opened....not just a little bit, but completely open. The only thing keeping him from the great cold outdoors was the screen.
I went into the garage and opened the shop door, Tigger was there, ready to dash out. I stepped into the shop to close the window. Pussycat looked up from her cozy box and gave me a look that said, "Geeze, it's about time you came after him." She likes Tigger about as much as she likes Runtly....and that isn't much. I know she could not hear Tigger wailing because she is deaf, but the look also let me know the room temperature was cooling off with the window wide open, interfering with her hibernation state.
By this time, I was frozen to the bone. I headed back to the house with Runtly and Tigger chasing each other in a zig zag pattern through the yard. It looked like a scene from "Homeward Bound". Once inside, Runtly was more than happy to jump straight up and down in anticipation for his breakfast.
The only bad part about the whole morning adventure is I have no idea if Runtly ever did do the potty thing while we were out there. If I was a betting person, I'd say he did not.
No comments:
Post a Comment