A Special Puppy

 I have told you about all my siblings with the exception of Charming Eddie. If you are a long time reader, you might recall reading about Eddie from his beginning.

Oscar was getting old when I came to live here. He was already 11 and his wife dog, Sweet Emmy Lou had passed away. He was still very sad when I came to live here. Since he was the alpha male of the pack, he is the one who had to accept me before I could stay. Mom tells me that she was afraid he would reject me because he was missing Emmy and I am a boy dog.

What can I say, Oscar knew quality when he saw me! I am quite a handsome specimen of a red dachshund. Dad says I am not red, but brown. Mom says I am red. This means I am red. We became friends right away. Oscar lived for 6 more years until he was very weak and couldn't see anymore. He had cataracts and at the beginning when his vision started to blur, us dogs would play tricks on him by moving things in his way, then we would laugh as he tripped.

I was already starting to feel bad about these tricks and Wall-E refused to participate. Often it was Martha, the boy cat, who would instigate these events. One day Mom caught us. That was a bad day for us! Right away Wall-E started crying his ugly iodine colored tears. Mom scolded us and took away snack time. Wall-E cried and cried until Mom finally picked him up and held him for awhile.

 Wall-E had a sensitive nature. He would cling to Mom with his claws. Mom called them talons because he refused to let her clip them. He would allow anyone to do anything to him, but watch out if you touched his feet! He would bite! I don't mind Mom clipping my toenails, although, I groom them myself by biting them off. Toni Louise has long nails, too and refuses to let Mom trim them. I keep telling her that she would feel better and be less likely to injure he toes if she would just let Mom give her a pedicure. She does not listen!

Oscar allowed Mom to cut his nails. Oscar allowed Mom to do anything she wanted. He loved Mom as much as I do. There came a day when Oscar felt really bad and Mom called our vet that we all loved so much. I heard Mom say "I think it is time" and then she said she would see her soon. 

Time for what? Mom was sad the entire day and would start crying for no reason. I am so thankful that her tears were not the ugly kind, like Wall-E's. Dad came home and she told him she was ready. She picked Oscar up in her arms and he settled his head into her shoulder. She told us dogs that Oscar wanted to say goodbye.

Goodbye? Oscar can't leave, I said. He is the boss of all us dogs. He is the leader. Who will take his place? Not me, I can't be a leader, I am a follower! Not Wall-E, he's a follower, too and he is too sensitive, he cries a lot. That left Toni Louise. She is quite bossy, but she lacks the caring part of being a leader. She is only concerned with herself.

I suppose you know that Oscar did not come home with Mom and Dad. It was very quiet and sad around our house. Toni and I are about the same age, although no one knows our birthdates. Toni says she is a year older than me, so that meant that I was the youngest animal in the house and I was already about 8 by then.

Mom was sad and she cried a lot. Oscar was 17 when he died and he had been with Mom since he was a puppy. She told Dad that another puppy would liven the place up. He said what he always says when Mom talks about getting another dog or cat. "NO MORE DOGS"

If Mom hadn't been so sad she would have laughed at him. We all missed Mom laughing. When Mom is happy with us, she will make up songs and sing to us. Mom has a song for everything us dogs do! Dad says her songs are annoying, but us dogs like them!

Oscar died the same month as the big party for Halloween that goes on here. Mom went through the motions and decorated and cooked, but she said she wasn't feeling it that year. Mom likes to dress up like a witch and she does a wicked cackle and says, "I will get you, my pretty!" it scares children when she does this. She sounds just like a witch! Well, I have never seen a real witch, but I have have heard some on the TV. Are witches even real?

As Christmas was coming close, Mom wasn't sad all the time, just part of the time. She still made cookies and treats and did all the stuff she always does. Sometimes, when we got in bed at night, we could see outside the window before Mom put the shade down and there were lights blinking everywhere! Mom called it festive, whatever that means.

Soon, it was the day before Christmas and Mom was busy getting the house clean and making food for the next day. Do you know how much food people eat at Christmas? A lot! Dad said he had to run an errand and he left on his mission. Mom knew that whatever the errand was it was about her gift. She told us dogs that every year Dad will try to keep her gift a secret. He will give her clues, even though she doesn't ask for a clue. She will almost always guess what the gift is. He can't keep a secret, she told us dogs.

It was already dark when Dad came back home. Mom was getting worried. He had been gone a long time. Mom doesn't like to call or text him while he is driving. She says it is not safe. So when she saw his truck coming in the drive, she went in the store and to the door to meet him.

He came in and pulled his gloves off as Mom asked him where he had been and told him she had been worried. He slowly unzipped his jacket ... and there it was ... Mom's very special Christmas gift ... a PUPPY!! Mom started crying and scooped the tiny puppy into her arms, kissing his entire face. "Puppy breath, I love puppy breath!" she kept saying over and over.

Dad had kept this secret since the puppy had been born!! He was born on October 25th. This also happens to be the day Layla was born. Layla is Mom's granddaughter and mom says that makes the puppy extra special, because Layla is special. I remember meeting her. She was very gentle and kind to me. I liked her a lot. I don't like other people, in general. I just like my mom. But I like Layla and I like Adrienne and I like Gavin. Mom says that dogs know when they meet people who are kind and love dogs.

Christmas day will be here soon. I hope Dad doesn't decide to get another puppy! Mr. BoJangles is enough! Just yesterday he decided to jump on the keyboard while I was writing and I lost half my story and had to write it again!