I wrote about His Emmettship in this post a while back. Since then, he’s continued to grow and relax around people to the point at which I am no longer terrified that he’ll viciously chomp down on someone’s extremities on a whim.
Facebook readers will likely have seen these photos before. For the record, he’s a good dog now, though since allergy season started, he’s added to his list of daily demands.
Fluffy Emmett, looking very much like a dust mop.
Emmett has hay fever. At the start of the season, he was scratching his eyes and doing all the things that allergens do to dogs. A quick call to the veterinary clinic solved the problem with a half a Claritin tablet daily.
The question: How to get him to take the pill every day?
The answer: Wrap it in something yummy just like you’d do for me.
Emmett’s drug of choice.
Bacon would have been my first choice ’cause then I could have some too, but that was far too much trouble. Besides, how do you WRAP a tiny pill in a crispy slice of delicious bacon?
We opted for a creamy slice of delicious Kraft American Cheese. Wrapping the tiny half pill in a strip of cheese torn from the slice did the trick. No problems at all and, of course, he gets to eat the rest of the cheese not already torn from the slice.
Bottom line, every night he gets a slice of cheese with his pill in it.
Problem #1: Now he recognizes the word “cheese.” So you can’t say any word containing the one syllable alert notification “cheese” without eliciting at a minimum this response:
“Emmett, do you want some… cheese?”
More often than not, though, there’s a lot of jumping around, barking, whining, wagging of tails, excitement and anticipation unmatched in canine behavior worldwide.
Problem #2: Now he expects it and demands it just about the time I get home from work.
He’s still a good dog, but I suspect that he’ll be getting a slice of tasty American cheese every day for the rest of his rotund little life, hay fever or not.
Anyway, please join me in celebrating our second Emmettversary, as the lovely and talented Beth Geyer proclaimed today to be in reminding me of the significance of this date.
Emmett is a full-fledged good boy and member of our family now.
Many of you will not know about my dog, Chloe. Chloe is a Papillon who came into my life in 2007. The former spousal unit and I got her as this tiny little puppy. She was full of the kind of energy that fuels puppies of all kinds and as you can see, she was incredibly adorable.
Chloe and Gizmo
She joined the family shortly after Thanksgiving, if memory serves, and quickly made friends with the other creatures in the house especially with Gizmo, the other Papillon who came to us a couple of years earlier.
Chloe’s disposition was not unlike that of every other Papillon I’ve met, sweet and playful with a nearly complete lack of aggression toward anyone including other dogs. She and Gizmo were inseparable and they lived together harmoniously with a wide assortment of cats and parrots ever since.
Chloe, all grown up.
Unfortunately, I was informed late last week that Chloe was not well and was unlikely to recover. She spent a few days in the pet hospital receiving the best of care and her improvement was negligible. Even though she seems far too young to be at the end of her journey, it looks as though that’s the case.
It breaks my heart to see such a sweet, delightful creature in such a condition. And even though I held her in my arms on Saturday and told her how much she meant to me, she’ll never really understand how much she contributed to my well being nor will she know how much love she gave me over the years I was fortunate enough to be in her world. Even though we’ve not lived in the same place for over five years, seeing her again and knowing that it was likely that I’d not see her again is devastating.
Goodbye, Chloe. You were everything every puppy ought to be.
Which brings me to the second dog in this tale, His Emmettship, Ruler of All Things Within Barking Distance. Most of you know him already from all the Facebook photos.
I’ve done my best in the last couple of days to spend more time with Emmett — you know, concentrate on the living and all that. Emmett as you may recall had a tough life before he found us and has been growing and trusting us more and more. Accepting affection from humans is something he’s still learning to do.
He’s happy, healthy and hasn’t bitten me or anyone else in ages, which early on was a serious concern. In fact, last week, we actually roughhoused a little. I was scared to death that he’d lose sight of play and get too aggressive too fast. He did bite once a little too hard but he immediately backed off. From this one action alone, he’s demonstrated that he’s learned a great deal and that he clearly does not want to hurt us.
Emmett loves to go in the car and if I ask him if he wants to go to the store, he hops around just like I would if I had won the Powerball. In the car, he’s relatively well behaved and if we’re going to the drive thru, he’s learning NOT to stick his head in the bag o’ food to see what’s there in spite of the wonderful aromas of freshly cooked fries. In return for his fine behavior, he gets to share a regular Mickey D’s burger, no onions, no pickle. As we approach home, he dives out of the driver’s car door and heads toward the front door, with the occasional pit stop at a nearby piece of shrubbery.
If I play my cards right, Emmett and I have quite a few years left until the finishing touches are put on his story. Or mine. Now that Chloe is leaving us, the best thing I can do to remember her is to make that extra effort to love and cherish Emmett’s companionship to the best of my ability.
I still marvel at the ability of these creatures to impact our lives. Emmett, Chloe, Gizmo, Bella and all those preceding pups have found extra space in my heart in which to take up residence for good. And it’s my experience that there’s always room in there for one more.
Here’s another in a series of posts I’m going to make when I find some of these treasures. Some will be captioned, others will not. The only criteria for posting in this series is that:
a.) I’m in the photo or…
b.) … I took the photo.
Emmett captured while asking politely for a taste of dinner. I call this his Dachshundasaurus Rex pose because he’s got those T-Rex hands going on there.
This is a panorama I took with my cell phone of the Transportation Research Board exhibit hall at their 95th annual meeting this week. Click on the photo to open at full resolution in a new tab.
The Nathanator, of course. He has a natural comfort in front of the camera that can’t be taught.
Emmett and I take short road trips when we’re batchin’ it.
This is purported to be the only known photo of me working. Truth is, I was just talking with a friend. So no, there’s still no photo anywhere of me doing actual work.
6. Benedict Cumberbatch is a tremendous actor.
I wrote about His Emmettship 
