Rupert

Well, it had to happen eventually.

Of all the parts and pieces of my life to blog about, I knew I would eventually make a post regarding our dog, Rupert. Those of you who know Cathy and I well have probably "met" Rupert and have gotten to experience his, shall we say, unique personality traits. For those of you who know not of what I speak, I'll try and describe the little fluffball, both pro and con.

First, a brief history. A few years back around Thanksgiving, Cathy started begging me for a dog. Now, this has been a fairly common thing with Cathy over the years, so I thought it would pass. And I thought it had passed, at least until Christmas eve.

Cathy had fallen asleep before me, and I went in to fill her Christmas stocking. When I returned, she rolled over and WHILE SLEEPING mumbled, "Did you buy me a puppy?"

At that moment, I realized how much she really wanted a dog in her life. I also realized that she was expecting a puppy for Christmas, and I hadn't bought her one!

A few days after Christmas, we went to the pet store and looked at puppies. Now, all puppies are cute, as we all know. But Lhasa Apso puppies...mercy. Men, don't take your wives or children to pet stores that have Lhasa Apso puppies, or you WILL be bringing one home. Needless to say, we spent a few minutes with the little white-and-cream colored Lhasa, and I knew we'd need to find some way to scrounge up the money for the little guy.

Here's a couple shots of Rupert as a puppy (not much bigger than a cell phone!)...




Rupert is a little over three years old now, and in general he has been a great cure for "empty nest syndrome." Here are some of Rupert's best traits:

• Awesome lap dog - Not a good thing when you're wanting to use your laptop!
• Loves his people - Rupert absolutely loves me, Cathy, Brandon, Zach, Megan, and Sarah. Anyone else, look out!
  
• Expressive - He's lucky he's so doggone cute, or he'd have been gone long ago (see bad traits below!)
• Smart - Lhasas are extremely smart. This can be good (potty training) or bad (stubborn as a mule). We have to spell out certain words, like C-A-R, or he'll recognize it and go ballistic.
  
• Non-shedding - Brandon and Megan know that this is a good feature for a dog!
• Perfect size - Not too small and yippy, but not a big dog either
• Minimal exercise - Lhasas don't require daily walks...which is a good thing for him, given our hectic schedules.
  
• Playful - I love watching Cathy "play rough" with Rupert. He loves the attention, and Cathy transforms to be like a little girl playing with her first dog. Love it.
  

However, Rupert has developed some bad habits. Most of them, I admit, are not Rupert's fault, but probably due to poor training on mine & Cathy's part... But they are oh, so annoying nonetheless. Here are some of his less desirable traits:

• Hyper when people arrive - For goodness sakes Rupert, stop biting Sarah's feet! And stop barking!
• Unsure about new people - Rupert has trouble getting used to new people (pretty much anyone other than our family)
  
• Weird new couch issue - Rupert has started going under the couch, pushing up on it repeatedly with his back, and growling... What's with that?
• Picky eater - Some people say, "My dog is fussy, he'll only eat Purina!" Oh yeah? Child's play... Rupert won't even eat dog food unless there's nothing else around (he thinks it's beneath him?). Not just that, he won't eat McDonald's hamburgers (he prefers BK). And he won't eat generic brand peanut butter, it has to be Jif. Good thing we haven't gone too far and SPOILED him...
  

In all, Rupert's good traits far outweigh the bad. And even if they didn't, he's part of the family now. (Zach, stop rolling your eyes.) Of all the animals we've had over the years, he has worked out the best by a long shot.

As I type this, Rupert is curled up next to me, sleeping. As I like to say, he's my "pretty good animal."

God is good!