Just another night at 3780

Saying that Jake and I love our dog is an understatement.  We are obsessed with our dog.  And by obsessed, I mean we are abnormally infatuated with this 19 pound Boston Terrier that was introduced into our lives nearly 2 1/2 years ago, named Tank.

So, what prompted this blog?  Moments like these...

Scene: 8:29pm and a DVR'd episode of Billy On the Street: Funny or Die is playing.  Jake is laying on the couch in his fleece jacket because he refuses to set the thermostat higher than 62° and I'm on the chair playing on my new MacBook Pro, lovingly named Watson.

Jake: Would you rather Tank be soft and have a not so cute face or keep his cute face and not be soft?
Me: Cute face, I don't care as much if he is soft.
Jake: Really?  I don't know about that.

a minute later...

Jake: Would you rather Tank not shoot bunnies (aka fart) or not beg for food?
Me: Easy. Not fart.
Jake: No way.  I'd rather he not beg for food.

another minute later... 

Jake: Would you rather Tank have his cute eyes and face and lose his floppy ears or get buggy eyes and an ugly face but keep his floppy ears.
Me: Lose the ears.
Jake: Seriously?  Why?
Me: Buggy eyes lead to more health problems and I don't want an ugly dog.
Jake: (to Tank) Mom did a good job picking out the cutest Boston Terrier with the best ears and face.

end of conversation.

I won't even get into the details of this past Sunday where me, my Dad, and Jake were at one point all sitting in the living room begging Tank to come sit by us.  Don't even worry about the fact that we paused a movie to have this weak moment.  He chose me, but who's keeping track?

PS After I read the draft of this post to Jake he told me he didn't say any of this and that, for the record, Tank ended up choosing to sit near him Sunday.  

Meet Zooey

It's absolutely ridiculous that Zooey was introduced into our lives this past July and this is my first post about her!  Trust me, she's gotten a lot of instagram coverage and Tank is in love with her already (whether its in a sisterly or girlfriend way is still TBD) but that doesn't explain why you're just now hearing about her!  No excuses, I'm the worst.

That aside, she is the cutest Boston Terrier and every time I'm around her it makes me itch for another one.  Don't worry, she doesn't have the same effect on Jake... yet.

I'm certainly going to miss her (and her sweet family) when we move, but have a week of watching her this November to look forward to!  I'm not the only one, Tank has grown extremely attached to her too and cries at the door any time he hears her or her name being called outside.  It's the cutest and saddest thing all at the same time.  His ears go up and he gets anxious when he hears her barking too.  Poor thing, I think he actually stresses when she's crying in her crate- a rare occurrence because she is quite the traveler.

What do you think, should we get another dog?  I mean clearly Tank is open to the idea.

dog ownership: it's not always a walk in the park

Having a pet is a serious undertaking and I wouldn't recommend it unless you truly love animals and are 100% committed to caring for them financially, physically, and emotionally.  Depending on the kind of pet you choose, they can require a lot- so if you aren't prepared then don't even think about it.  Don't take this to mean that I don't love Tank or in some way regret getting him, because we absolutely ADORE him... but he is a lot of work.

 Tank on the couch while I'm blogging... I just fluffed the cushions.

Over the past few weeks Tank has been a HOT MESS.  We noticed a growth on his front paw just before the holiday and I told Jake we'd need to keep an eye on it in case it started getting bigger.  Of course, Jake did not want to have to bring him into the vet over something like that and quickly dismissed it until a couple weeks ago when it started growing by the day.  I made an appointment and learned that it was some type of immune response to a cut/bite/scratch/who knows and would eventually go away on its own.  Needless to say, I'm glad we had it checked out because it continued to get bigger and bigger and we would have totally freaked out if we didn't known what it was/wasn't.

That same growth was the cause of several other issues including blood on our couch, duvet, and sheets.  Yep... it burst not once, but twice as a result of him playing and got everywhere.  Awesome, right?  The stains on the couch have lightened in color, but are still there and the sheets are still a work in progress.

That's not all though.  Recently, while taking a shower Tank somehow managed to get a corner of the bath mat under the door and started eating it.  No joke.  I came out of the shower and noticed the rug had been pulled under the door and when I opened it, carpet shavings were just sitting there.  Bad dog.

Speaking of carpets, he also has a habit of shredding the rug in front of our door whenever we dog sit Peanut (Scott and Hannah's sidekick).  This has happened twice now and we've only had Peanut twice.  The weird part is that we dog sit for friends a lot and this only happens with Peanut in particular.  I'm onto rug #3 and I plan to put it away the next time Peanut comes to visit.  I should have learned my lesson the first time around, but we honestly thought Peanut did it since Tank had never chewed on rugs before.  Shame on us.

Lastly, his hair loss.  Poor thing.  We took him in for this little issue awhile ago as well and all they could say is that it might be stress related.  Strange.  Anyway, we got him some stuff to put on his dinner each night to help and it's been working.  We officially ran out and learned that the replacement bottle is going to run $60 and will last about 3-4 months at a time.  That might seem reasonable to some of you, but that's not his only expense each month.

I'm not sure why I took the time to vent about Tank because I'm obsessed with him, but I guess I've just been feeling a little more tired than usual so all of these incidents seem monumental at the time.

What I can say is that writing this blog reaffirms that I'm content with just one dog (for now) despite getting the below photo from Tank's former home that they have a new and final litter.

week two: mid-week laughs

E, Myself, and I is back this week with her blog series, "mid-week laughs" and I decided to participate again! If you're a blogger, feel free to partake!  This week's topic is:

_________ makes me laugh about MY PET!

I'll go ahead and fill in the blank with...

His big dog personality makes me laugh about MY PET!

 Just to give you an idea of his size.

My puppy Tank currently weighs in at about 5 lbs. with the potential to reach 17-20 as a full grown adult.  However, judging by the way he carries himself and the large dogs he tends to associate with you'd think he was working up to 100.  His favorite neighborhood dog is the German Shepherd Great Dane mix and his most recent friendship is with our friends' French Mastiff, Gus.

I know its been said that smaller dogs tend to be this way, but I'm convinced Tank takes this to a whole other level.  Combine his belief that he is way bigger than he is with his alpha dog personality and you get t r o u b l e!  Take a look for yourself.