My "Good" Dog

I suppose it stands to reason that we've been dealing with a few... ummm, shall we say "behaviors" on the part of the pooch, Minnie since we've adopted Lucy. It's just plain fact that Minnie is a wee bit lower on the totem pole these days. As I'm caring for Lucy's needs (which trump Minnie's) I haven't gotten out to take Minnie on as many walks as I used to, I haven't made as many purchases of chewy treats for her, and umm, I haven't worked with her so much on her obedience training that we learned in the "puppy kindergarten" class we took last fall at Petsmart...

It's easy to get frustrated when I find evidences of Minnie's "behaviors" around the house... and I've decided that maybe my frustration has more to do with my outlook than anything else. I think I'm on to something here: perhaps Minnie has been "misunderstood" recently. What may appear to be Minnie's regression into past puppy-like naughtiness may actually be advanced skills she comes by naturally.

The first skill is likely Minnie's attmept to chip in and "help" me with all my responsibilities since becoming a mommy. For example, here is Minnie "helping" me do the dishes:

She also likes to "help" me give Lucy her baths:

The next skill she seems to be practicing is a little something we'll call "Quality Control". I think that a few days ago when I walked into the bathroom and discovered one of Lucy's toys looking like this:

that Minnie was only conducting a quality control test... she helped me discover that indeed, this toy of Lucy's is NOT durable enough to withstand doggy encounters.

Nor, might I add, are a pair of shoes that have been faithful companions of mine since my junior year of college:

It would seem that with all these extra chores that Minnie has taken on recently, she wouldn't have time in her busy schedule anymore to give to the role she came by so naturally when we brought her into our home as an 8-week-old, 3 pound furball. But, she's so selfless that she still manages to squeeze in time to be the cuddly, sweet, comforting companion we know has always been in her... somewhere.