A Year of Blogging: February 20, 2011

February 20 was 'Love Your Pet' day. Every day at our house is Love Your Pet day. Or specifically, Love Our Dogs day. I am the mother to two very spoiled beagles. I do not know why they are so spoiled. Haha! I'm going to say it was their Grandma who spoiled them. The dogs are allowed on the couches. Often you will find them each curled up on a couch. They believe the pillows are for their comfort. The throw blankets Erich and I keep on the couches to curl up in when we are relaxing double as dog blankets. Onyx digs and pulls on our blankets just as she does her dog bed. She makes her nest and then settles down to snooze. My dogs have more toys than some children. They have three toy boxes, and all are over flowing. We go into a pet store and have a hard time picking out a new toy for them, because they have all the plush toys. Plastic toys are out because Onyx chews through them in less than two minutes. We learned that lesson when she was very young. We tried again when she was older, and she still chewed right through it. There are some times they still need toys. I like to get them a toy on their birthdays and Christmas. When I visit my mom, she sends home a small toy for each of them as an apology for taking me away from them. Mom & Dad rub the toys on them so the toys smell like Gramma and Grampa. When Mom & Dad come to visit us, they bring toys as bribes to get in the door. And then there is the food. Erich and I have gotten in the habit of buying chicken or steaks in packages of three. One for each of us, one for the dogs to share. If we have roast beef, the dogs enjoy it too. If we fix something with hamburger, we scoop out some of the hamburger for them before we put the taco seasoning or spaghetti sauce in it. There are very few nights that they do not share our dinner. Of course- theirs is cooked separately, without the sauces or spices we use for ours. But they still enjoy it! Some people would call us bad dog parents because they are so spoiled. They do not think they are dogs. They think they are short humans. Yet have no fear, they know who the alpha dog is. They both know I am the leader of our pack in the house. Onyx does think she outranks Erich, but at least she knows she doesn't outrank me. They are not just spoiled with things or food. They are spoiled with affection. We spend a great deal of time snuggling with them, petting them, and loving them. They have brought so much joy to our lives, we show them every day how much they are loved.