I think it’s safe to say that in the past month, we’ve been carpet-bombed with a metric tonne of furry adorable-ness who has firmly taken hold of everyone’s hearts and is refusing to let go.
It is truly hard to believe that it was a month ago today that Katie was standing on my doorstep with a very beautiful (and decidedly smaller!) Labradoodle puppy. Katie may well think *SHE* is the owner but we all know better…there’s a new ruling queen amongst us and she’s caramel-coloured and four-legged!
To be sure, there are times that she does get into a bit more mischief than we’d like…the odd “oops” when she’s a bit too excited and can’t wait for the door to open and she’s very definitely into biting and nibbling with exceptionally sharp puppy teeth. And then there was the mouse cord that found out that puppy teeth can sever the wire quicker than you might imagine which is why Katie’s school-issued Chromebook is now rocking a wireless mouse! 🙂
But those are normal puppy behaviours and those aside, she is genuinely a lovely puppy and when she decides she’s ready to snuggle, it’s game over! She’s totally won!
I’d also say she’s probably the smartest dog I’ve ever known. Her predecessors weren’t dumb by any stretch of the imagine (OK, Molly could be quite intentionally oblivious to the concept of “personal space” but that was just her personality!) but the speed with which Mistletoe has picked up tricks and proper training is pretty breathtaking.
She knows to go to the front door and ring the string of bells suspended from the knob when she’s ready to step updeck and use the outside facilities. She knows basic commands and will generally obey them much more often than when it merely suits her to do so. And she’s shown an amazing cleverness when it comes to solving puzzles that you set out for her like hide-and-seek or giving her sounds to track and find.
She’s a frighteningly smart puppy which I’ll admit I wasn’t quite expecting.
But it’s her lovable nature that has sealed the deal with me faster than any other dog I’ve ever known.
And that pantheon of canine-contenders would include Buster who was a mix of Scottish and Norwich terrier and was this brindle-brown mixed colour that ensured he wasn’t exactly a real looker. But he was reasonably clever and honestly was probably the reason my father stayed alive whilst I was away at university where I couldn’t take him with me and then getting on my feet after moving back home to North Carolina after graduation. Dad would always grumble about “that damned dog’s tying me down and keeping me from going to Alaska” but deep in his heart, he loved Buster as much if not more than I did. As much as he said that he was happy to be rid of Buster when I finally got a house in Clayton where Buster could roam round…it was clear to me that the kinda ugly little mutt really got to him and that he really couldn’t bear to deal with the cancer that ultimately ended up taking Buster’s life at the ripe old age of 17 less than a year later.
There is a theory that’s been advanced by Julia that even though the current times are rather mad with the pandemic and the normal routines are completely out the window with virtual schooling and other challenges that the time was right for Mistletoe to join our little ‘ohana.
And even though a very young puppy is certainly a new bit of stress and hassle for a family that already has more than it’s share…she has truly been a god-send for our mental health and well-being.
She has totally taken over our hearts and souls and is utterly without remorse for having done so. And truth be told…we wouldn’t have it any other way.
God save Mistletoe. May she long reign over us! 🙂
