Certifiably Insane

I must be certifiably insane.

So, way back before Halloween, Chuck and Lori (Eric's dad and stepmom) had two litters of puppies. Bubba, their male Brussels Griffon, impregnated Roxy, their female Brussels Griffon, in a totally planned pregnancy. However, Bubba apparently wasn't fully satisfied, and proceeded to also get their female Pug, Ruby, pregnant. Ooops.

Well, their "ooops" is now our joy (I say "joy"-- it could be a complete nightmare), because we decided to adopt not one, but two of the puppies. There were three Brussels Griffon pups, and five Brussels-Pug pups to choose from, originally. I had been thinking about taking one of the pups since they were born, but hadn't fully decided. I knew it was going to be a big decision, which would mostly center around Kooka's current health.

Kooka has been showing symptoms of congestive heart failure for a year or so now, and to be honest, we're all pretty surprised that my ol' guy is still alive and kicking. Back in August, I thought the end was very near, when he got a horrible kidney infection, but after a strong dose of antibiotics and a fresh new diet, he was good as new (except for the muscle-wasting that typically occurs in CHF dogs). Well, about a week before Christmas, Kooka took what appeared to be a turn for the worse, and we honestly didn't think he would make it to the new year. Once again, he had a kidney infection, and after a week of antibiotics, he is back to his old self.

Originally, I hadn't wanted to bring any puppy (or puppies) home until after Kooka had passed away. We already have three dogs, two of which are large, and with the three kids, you can imagine what a full house that would be. I know that Kooka doesn't have much longer, since dogs with CHF rarely live beyond a year after showing symptoms, but he isn't in any pain, so I refuse to put him to sleep. His vet believes that he'll probably just go in his sleep anyway, and I am perfectly content with that. He deserves at least that for as good as he's been over the years.

A couple of days before Christmas, I took the kids to Stillwater to visit with Nana and Papa, and to get a look at the pups in person. Josh immediately latched on to Molly, who is the runt of the Brussels-Pug litter. I hadn't intended on adopting a female, just because Isis has been so high-maintenance in terms of her attitude, but Josh absolutely adores her. My personal preference was for one of the purebred Brussels, since I've always wanted one, but this was more about what the kids wanted. Gabe has become interested in Gus, one of the male Brussels, while Quincy, too, likes Molly.

Molly (around 7-weeks old)

Gus (around 7-weeks old)

So, after much, much, much consideration, I finally decided this week that we would take both Molly and Gus, and that I would go ahead and bring them home before Kooka dies. They are already ten weeks old, and I didn't want to miss out on the socialization that needs to take place with the dogs we already have. It would be a total nightmare to introduce a couple of six month-old dogs into the house after Kooka dies (of course, he could surprise us all and live another year-- there's no telling). Luckily, Kooka is good with puppies.


So next weekend, Nana and Papa are going to bring Gus and Molly to the boys, and we will have five dogs in the house. Yikes. Lucky for me, three of them will not be over 25 lbs. Whew! Molly probably won't make it beyond 15 lbs, to be honest, and Gus will probably be closer to 20. In the meantime, the boys have been working on names for their new pets. Gabe is pretty adamant about naming Gus, "Fireman Sam" after a cartoon character on one of his favorite DVDs, and I have a feeling I won't be able to talk him out of it. Josh has waivered between several names, like "Batman", "Robin", "Ant", "Villain", "Wonka", and "Yzma" (pronounced "Eezma" if you've ever seen "The Emperor's New Groove"). Who knows what that poor dog will be called.

It has been seven years since we have had a puppy in the house, and so it will definitely take some getting used to. At least their pee can be successfully mopped-up with a single paper towel, instead of an actual bath towel, like I have to use if the big dogs have an accident. Now I just have to find plenty of stuff for them to chew on so they leave non-doggie items alone!