Twix has no patience for this nonsense.

Little Athena

Bernard eat fingerssss!

Drink ALL THE WATER!

Our house has been shaken up with the arrival of three new foster puppies. They are out of a litter of seven, but I actually do like my husband and decided that his sanity and the happiness of our marriage could snap under the sheer amount of puppy messes that seven of these stinkers could make, so we took three and another foster took the other four. They’ve had a bath every day since we’ve had them, and not because I love giving three squirming puppies bathes either. It’s because puppies this young do not seem to care about stepping in their own poop. Or rolling around in it. You know what it’s like waking up at 6 am to that smell? I’ll admit it, I’ve ran back to bed before after the smell hit me. It was the same day I was wrestling with a stomach bug, so clearly it was the last thing I needed to smell. But that only lasted a few minutes before I forced myself to give bathes and hose off the crate.

These little pups are just 7 weeks old and are Collie mixes. They were just scared, scrawny little things when I went to pick them up. It took a few days of coaxing before they got used to people, and now they greet me in the morning and when I get up from work with wriggles and fervent tail wagging. When I brought them home, they were so skinny and tiny that I could fit them in one arm full. I handed one to my husband, and one to Peanut, and held the other. The naming process is always an exciting one. I would very much like to go with a theme instead of a mishmash of seemingly unrelated names, but I haven’t gotten the rest of the family on board yet. The one in my husband’s arms crossed his front paws and regarded us seriously. My husband announced “This one is Bernard. He’s very classy.”

Peanut was holding another male. He didn’t even hesitate. “Twix”. “Twix?” “Yes, TWIX.” I don’t ask for a reason behind his names, but oddly, Twix seemed fitting.

I was holding the only female. I already had decided that I wanted a good strong name for her. She was timid and quiet, but I knew she had a fire in her. We decided on Athena. Greek mythology is always a good source for names with a kick.

They are a goofy bunch. Bernard is a daring sort. He will march right up to the other dogs and the cats with no fear. Twix is more reserved, but loves to be loved on. When I take them outside, he always walks up to me like he’s just seeing me for the first time. I give him a few ear scratches and he runs off to do dog things. Athena is the little sneak. She is still timid, but bold when she wants to be. Getting her outside usually involves reaching under a piece of furniture. She also has a weird dinosaur/cat whine that I’m not sure of what to make. They still curl up together and snuggle to keep each other warm, but Athena will whine if Twix, who is slightly larger, crawls on top of her. The funniest moment is when they go for water. I have two water bowls, but they will always go for the same one, and usually the smallest of the two. It becomes a brief moment of chaos. If one of my dogs is attempting to get a drink at the same time, the puppies will rush in and push my dog out.

And speaking of the girls, they have become a bit curmudgeonly with fosters. They either ignore that they exist, or growl and walk off in a huff in the foster dare touches them, although there was some accidental snuggling with Bella and Bernard today. Sable is acting like…well, like Sable. She got worked up and dashed out the front door the other evening, making us late for a parent teacher conference. I apologized to the teacher by saying “My stupid dog dashed out of the house again”, but I didn’t specify that I wasn’t using stupid as a derogatory phrase but as an identifier. My stupid dog, as opposed to the two smart dogs I have that know better than to dash out the front door and run circles in the neighborhood like an absolute loon while I scream “I’M NOT CHASING AFTER YOU!”

It’s a game we play. Me, rather unwittingly. She’s lucky she is a good snuggler.