Instant Joy

Dogs bring so much joy.  When arriving home from work, all three dogs come running once they hear the door open.  The happiness they have when I walk through the door is so infectious it melts away any stresses carried home from work.  The love they are given is multiplied and returned.  

Two Boston Terriers and a long-haired Chihuahua share their home with us. The boy is a senior male Boston Terrier, the girl is an adult Boston, and the baby is a young long-haired Chihuahua.  My family had a Chihuahua when I was young, but Boston’s were not in my life growing up.  As an adult, I have come to have a special affection for Bostons.  Boston Terriers seem to have a heightened ability among dogs to be joyful and in the moment.  

The girl, the female Boston, loves to sleep and is joyful even in her sleep.  When she wakes up she stretches then lays there not wanting to move from the warm comfortable spot on the bed that gave her such a restful sleep.  After a few minutes she can be coaxed off the bed to join the other dogs who are excitedly waiting for her to join them so they may embark on their morning walk.  The joke is that the girl has a superpower.  She can magically appear between a person and any other dog.  She is sweet but a bit jealous.  If another dog is being given attention she will appear from nowhere, having wedged herself between you and the dog that had been receiving attention only a moment earlier.

The boy, the male Boston, loves his walks and scratches at the front door until it is opened releasing him to the world.  He is handicaped with some limitations on the use of his hind legs.  He doesn’t see his handicap, only an opportunity to go down the street to sniff different things and pee in different places.  Although his hind legs don’t work properly, he does his version of running.  He is so happy as he runs ahead leading us on our morning walk.  The girl, the female Boston, is so happy sniffing, she lags behind enjoying sniffing her favorite spots, not wanting to move on.  Walks are sometimes a bit of a challenge with the boy running ahead while the girl loves to lag behind as she stops to smell the flowers.  The baby is not so responsive to commands so cannot be trusted off a leash and must walk beside me.  The Bostons love rolling in the grass.  They roll around in the grass with such glee that it can’t be helped but smile at their joyful actions.  We live in the desert so our walks are early in the morning before the sun heats the pavement.  Nonetheless, it can be pretty hot, even at 5:30 in the morning.  There is one lawn whose sprinklers have usually just stopped watering before we pass.  The boy loves to lie on the cool wet grass to rest and lick the water from the wet grass blades.

The Chihuahua, the baby, loves cats.  She especially loves our cat.  Our cat can barely enter a room the Chihuahua is in without having the baby run to him and lick his face and ears.  Our cat also loves the baby and it is surprising how much of her aggressive attention the cat tolerates.  Seeing them interact is so sweet and joyful.  If cats and dogs can interact so lovingly, why can’t we?  The baby is always ready to start her day early.  As soon as I stir, moving into wakefulness or once the daylight begins creeping in the room, whichever comes first, the baby nudges the morning forward with kisses to my face.

While I feel great love for all the animals who share their home with us, there is a soft spot in my heart for the boy.  He is older and was already a senior when we adopted him.  His previous owner had died, and the other dog he lived with was hit by a car.  After we took him from the pet shelter, it was to the vet to understand all his issues.  Boston Terriers have a short crooked tail which is called hemivertebrae.  Sometimes the crookedness goes further up the spine, as it does with the boy, causing issues with the function of their hind legs and some incontinence.  He looked like a bag of bones when he was in the shelter.  The outline of his ribs and his spine were very visible through his skin.  A friend later commented, they wondered why we adopted him with him looking like he was on death’s door.  In addition to being malnourished and the obvious issues with his hind legs and his incontinence, the vet told us he had an iron deficiency, a heart murmur, and a tumor in his intestines.  He also had an odd unpleasant smell to him.  She told us not to expect him to have a normal life expectancy.  He has issues but he has put on weight, the odd smell disappeared, and he is a joyful quirky dog.  The boy is a loving and eccentric old man with a zeal for life.

The female Boston was not yet a part of our family when we adopted the boy.  Neither the Chihuahua nor the cat were very welcoming to the boy when he arrived.  For weeks, the baby followed him around growling at him and the cat hissed anytime he came near.  They slowly warmed to him and the more comfortable he became in his home the more his personality shined through.  He has trained us to know he does not like to be picked up, but if he is picked up, it must be with one arm under his neck around his upper chest and the other arm around his rear.  He let us know to never pick him up from the center.  Steps were pushed against the foot of the bed so he could join everyone on the bed.  He let us know he usually prefers to get on the bed by himself but if he wants help, he lets us know by putting his front paws on top of the bed and we are to push him up onto the bed from his rear end.  The boy is lovingly referred to as our redecorator.  In the darkness of night he pulls throw rugs moving them from one place to another, even sometimes deciding the rug would work better in a different room.  

The boy and the baby have grown to love each other.  The Chihuahua loves to play, as does the boy but he is old and doesn’t play often or for long.  Anytime the baby barks, he goes running to see what she’s barking at and if she’s okay.  Knowing this, the baby uses it to her advantage.  If the boy is on the bed in a spot the baby wants, she runs out the doggie door, barks, waits for him to go out to investigate, then she runs back in, taking his former spot on the bed.  

The girl was the last addition to our family.  She was a breeder dog.  Before finding her permanent home, the girl was living with a teenage girl and her family who had adopted her after the Boston the teenage girl had grown up with had died.  The teenager had a four-year-old brother who had grown up with the previous Boston. Presumably their previous Boston Terrier tolerated the little boy’s aggressive play.  Our girl is jumpy, and a bit nervous so she didn’t do well with the young boy.  He was a bit rough with her in the beginning and she never warmed to him.  She growled and showed her teeth every time he came near.  After some time it became clear to the family it was not the right home for her and she found her way to us.  She was very timid and jumpy when she first joined our family, running away when we had visitors.  Now she happily greets everyone who comes through the door.  It has brought joy to see her transform and blossom as she grew comfortable in her new home.  

All of the dogs are very considerate of us.  Summers in the desert rarely have days below one-hundred and ten degrees fahrenheit.  Some hot summer weekends, most of the day is spent in the pool.  It is too hot for the dogs to spend much time outside, but each of them will periodically come out their doggy door, walk to the edge of the pool, make sure I am alright, then disappear back through the doggy door into the coolness of their house.

Each of the dogs have their own unique personalities. It is our goal to give them the best lives possible in reciprocation of the love and joy they bring to our lives.  It is heart-warming watching the dogs, seeing how they interact with us, each other, and the cat.  And when I’ve had a bad day at work, I arrive home, walk through the door and am greeted with love and instant joy.  If only my spouse were as happy to see me!