Laura told her brother that she wanted a puppy for Christmas. Her dog Yuuki is over 15 years old and though he could go on for a while, he's beginning to show real signs of checking out soon, and to be honest with you, Laura would probably lose it if that happened. She was pretty smart to mention her dog fix to her older brother.
It's true that Santa Claus has often been used as a most wonderful excuse for forcing someone to allow them to either give an animal as a gift or keep an animal as a gift, simply by claiming that Santa brought the animal! It works nearly every time. It worked today.
Reuben was keen to let me know what his sister wanted from Santa, so I was able to connect with a few people, make a call or two, and found a really good source for all things puppy, right here in Oklahoma City. The dog had to be bigger than small, smaller than large, and to say medium was just too simplified. The dog had to be at least 20" tall so as to walk well with Laura when she's out taking a stroll, but it also needed to weigh under 50 pounds because we do live in an apartment and we don't want to be too confining. Enter the Western Mountain Cur. I don't believe the dog we ended up with is registered with the American Kennel Club, nothing like that, but it is either a Western Mountain Cur or a Mountain Cur. Both are close to being the same type of cur, but the Western has more of the size, coloring, and marking of the dog we ended up with.
Here's what Wikipedia had to say about the Mountain Cur breed: "The Mountain Cur is a type of working dog that is bred specifically for treeing and trailing small game, like squirrel and raccoons. They are also used for hunting and baying big game like bear and wild boar as well as being an all-purpose farm dog. Curs are a member of the Hound group, and the Mountain Cur is one of several varieties of cur. It can also be used as a water dog. Mainly bred in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee, it has been registered with the United Kennel Club since 1998. The Mountain Cur Breeders' Association was formed in 1957." (Apparently, the Mountain Cur is the type of dog Daniel Boone worked with and owned.)
The good folks at the pet store were all too happy to hook me up with names of breeders who they respected and one of them, the one we went with, rehomes for a fee, but the fee is typically given to the animal shelter for food and other things. What good people. This is their last litter of Mountain Curs as they have had their dogs spayed. The mother dog is about 8 years old and she is just at or nearly past where she should be for breeding. The father, on the other hand, is only two years old, and he'll be making babies for a minute.
Laura has a rule about puppies. She sits in the middle of them and the one that comes to her stays with her, observes, and loves on her the most is the one she picks. Thank goodness I put a limit to only one puppy! Out of the six puppies that were not spoken for out of a litter of nine, she had three crawling all over her, biting at her scarf, demanding to be loved, and showing her the utmost of attention. She chose a little boy with a brown body, white chest, legs, and muzzle. He has a black "mask" and nose. He could not be cuter. She named him Tyrian after one of her favorite television characters from Game of Thrones. He will end up standing about 24" tall and weighing about 40 to 50 pounds. So adorable.
Currently, as I write to you, Tyrian is laying snuggled up tightly in my lap. He's snoring. He's literally snoring!! He's only eight weeks old as of today and will be celebrating his first birthday on October 30, 2023. He's the 5th born according to the records, so he's a true middle child like Laura. He's going to need a lot of extra-loving for sure. Not a problem at our house. He'll be trained professionally for Laura's emotional therapy dog. Laura has both autism and OCD; she requires a bit of extra loving and attention as well. This dog will serve both as her pet and companion for years to come. I'm going to be suffering the entire time, as I force myself to love, hold, squeeze, kiss, play, and dote all over his adorable cuteness. It's a sacrifice of the highest order, and I'm prepared to accept the challenge.
With Santa off the hook now, I'm sure he'll rest easier knowing that Tyrian has Laura's back...and face. He really likes the face.
Photo Credit: Me
No comments:
Post a Comment