Wednesday, December 26, 2012

A Sweet Grandpuppy


I have not been sewing lately.  My husband and I have been taking care of a puppy.  Specifically, a grandpuppy.  Our son and his wife visited her family over Christmas.  They were going to take the puppy with them, but at the last minute worried that he wouldn't fit into the carrier allowed in the tiny, under-the-seat-space on the airplane.  A phone call: "Would you consider taking care of Royer?" 


Now, my husband and I are not dog people.  But it is a big commitment to care for a 10-week-old puppy, and no one else was available during this busy time of year.  So, of course, when a wonderful son and wonderful daughter-in-law ask you to care for their beloved puppy, what is there to say but "Yes, we'd be happy to." 

We drove up the afternoon before their early-morning flight to watch Royer's usual routines and write down our list of instructions.  Then we brought him home.  It felt like bringing a baby home from the hospital.  You have no idea what you're doing, but you have to learn quickly - and you do. 


Royer quickly took over the house.  His food and water bowls were placed in a corner of the kitchen.  Toys and bones were scattered about the living room.  His crate sat next to the piano.  The stairs were blocked off with a large suitcase.  Glass doors to the sunroom were shut to close off access to the Christmas tree and all those wonderful ornaments.  We learned to shuffle everywhere because Royer always followed CLOSELY, and we didn't want to accidentally step on one of his cute paws. 


The toughest part, of course, was bathroom duty.  In December.  With snow and cold and wind.  At midnight.  At 7 in the morning.  Whenever we were sure he wanted to go out and whenever we were unsure that he wanted to go out but weren't willing to take the chance on being wrong.  (We were wrong a couple of times and regretted it.)


But what feels like a chore to a human is a source of delight to a puppy.  Oh, the wonderful things to be found in the snow!  Pinecones and pine needles and dead leaves!  All waiting to be dug up and sniffed at and wrestled with and explored.  I'm usually snugged up tight in my warm house after dark, so it's a new experience to be scrambling through the snow on a clear, crisp night with an excited puppy on a leash - who should be making a quick job of going to the bathroom if there weren't so many exciting distractions.   


Royer is back with his parents now.  There is no suitcase blocking the stairway.  Doors are open.  Cuckoo clock chains are hanging low to the ground.  We have plenty of time to sew and read.  But we miss the soft fur of a golden doodle puppy, and those big, expressive eyes.  And the way he always liked to lay right at our feet and have his tummy rubbed.  

My husband and I are not dog people.  But we are definitely grandpuppy people. 


Puppy Chow
4 cups (24 ounces) chocolate chips
2 cups peanut butter
1 cup (two sticks) butter
1 box (23.5 ounces) Wheat Chex
4 cups powdered sugar

1.  Melt chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a 3-quart saucepan.
2.  Pour cereal into a large bowl.  Pour chocolate mixture over the cereal and mix well to coat.
3.  Put powdered sugar in a brown grocery bag.  Dump in cereal mix and shake well.
4.  Put in freezer to cool.
           For humans - not puppies!

You might enjoy reading my previous blog post:

16 comments:

  1. Puppies certainly do bring a certain change to a house don't they? almost 2 years ago now, my hubby and I decided that we wanted to bring home a puppy, because our older dog, was well getting older, and we thought well, we don't know how long we have with her, and a puppy might help us get through this...well some how a puppy turned into, lets get 2 puppies, because when it is Nikki's time, they will need each other as much as we will need them...I did not think we were going to survive that first week. Somehow we did though. Sam and Jasper will be 2 in January, Nikki will be 13 in January...and some days I do miss those puppy days...of course, we didn't just get any kind of puppy..we got Siberian Husky puppies...that was like a dozen puppies at once, even though it was just 2...lol

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  2. Awww, so cute! I remember those days with Nikko, taking her to "the spot" and walking her back and forth saying, "Hurry up"!, until she performed. Oh yes, there were a lot of "business trips" but it paid off in the long run because now, if I don't have time for a long walk, all I have to say is "hurry up". (And when we go out, yes, the stairs are still blocked!

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  3. Your pictures completely melted my heart, thank you!
    Please consider taking off the dreaded "word verification" to make it easier to post. If you get spam just delete it.

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  4. Your post was so sweet. I am a dog person and the pictures were great!

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  5. Vic, I never meant for word verification to be there. I found a tutorial on how to remove it. I hope this helps!

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  6. Your grand puppy is adorable, what type is he?

    I am a dog person, and after having raised 9 puppies for The Seeing Eye in 8 years, I can housebreak one in my sleep : )

    Thanks for making my day with your pictures and commentary! Have a Happy New Year!

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  7. He is adorable!

    I have always been a dog person, and my friends who had HUMAN children (I forgot to!) told me that they thought babies were easier to figure out, since at least they are our own species. :)

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  8. P.S. Sounds like you might be edging into being dog people. Just think, you could have a furry footwarmer of your own ...

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  9. What a darling! One of my stepdaughter's has one - he's a year old and huge! Last Christmas she brought him with her to our house and he was a ball of energy, but so sweet. This Christmas we had 2 basset hounds, 1 lab and 2 Chihuahuas, along with one stepson, 2 stepdaughters and 2 significant others! Last stepdaughter and her DH should be here today with grandpuppy Daisy - a golden retriever! Since only the 2 Chihuahuas are still here (one is ours and one is my daughter's, being dog-sat) and the lab (he's the farm dog and used to outside but DSS always has him sleep with him), it should be all right. Now to run out and feed the horses...gotta bundle up, it snowed!!!

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  10. So that is what a golden doodle looks like. Golden retriever and poodle mix, I think? The golden part should be him a very loving disposition. What a sweet story and a sweet looking pup!

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  11. Oh, what a cutie! With those shoebutton eyes he looks like a Steiff stuffed animal.

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  12. i have a 7 month old labradoodle that we got from a rescue group. he is black where yours is golden....otherwise they could pass as twins. LOTS of energy these have! he sure is a handful, but ever so loving. if i ever get another dog (hobie made 5, the other 4 are all really small dogs) i will surely get another of this breed. they're smart and loving and so much fun! even though we had 4 dogs, i really wasn't a dog person, but i sure am now.

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  13. Oh, he is SO cute!!!! We've always been dog people, but I was so heartbroken over the loss of our Golden / Lab mix in 2004 that I was adamant that I didn't want another....EVER! But, after 7 years of silence in our house, and time healing the raw grief, we saw a Boxer that needed adopting. His time was out at the shelter and would be put to his death. Something in him grabbed us and we HAD to save him. That was almost 2 yrs. ago and we have added another adoption of a death row client to the first. We have never laughed so hard in our lives. We know they've made us healthier and of a better frame of mind. My sister has dogs 'vicariously' through ours!!! She calls them her neph dog & niece dog.

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