Puppy Love

In July we adopted a 5 month old puppy from someone whose son moved away without the dog. Hubby found the dog through a facebook friend.

I'm a cat person. I have had cats for most of my life and currently share my home with five felines. I enjoy their company and love the fact that cats make it easy take weekend away from home and not have to worry about them; cats are - for the most part - quiet critters. But I figured "what the hell". Hubby and my daughter have been pining for a puppy. So we drove to Chalmette, Louisiana one rainy Monday to pick up our new pup.

While thinking about a puppy, I envisioned a small, fuzzy baby dog. I'll never forget the first time I laid eyes on the Deuce. My first thought was "he's very tall, look at those legs!!".

The pup's owners named him "Duke", which really didn't click for us. On the ride home we played with names and finally decided on "Deuce", after the former New Orleans Saint Deuce McAllister. It fit and that was "dat".

Deuce is quite a dog. He's responsible for turning me into a dog lover.

The few months that we've shared our home with Deuce have not been dull. He has grown like a typical puppy: gnawing on furniture, full of energy. A few things that stand out in my mind:

- Deuce eating a pork tenderloin that I put out to rest on the counter (I forgot how tall he is)
- Finding my phone in pieces in Deuce's bed.
- Realizing that I could not leave magazines around because the newly acquired dog is a live shredder.
- I have never seen a dog de-stuff a dog toy as fast as Deuce.
- He drops bones and heavy "chew toys" on the hardwood floor which causes my 17 year old cat to have seizures.
- He eats anything (wood, cloth, CDs, etc).
- When he jumps on me, his paws are as high as my shoulders.
- Dog spit is sticky.
- I have seen this dog eat things he regurgitated earlier (ugh!).

With that said, I would like to present the pictures of Deuce's debut in da bayou today.

He made me a dog lover today. There is nothing like seeing a dog discover his calling, his breeding.

Deuce is part Labrador, part Chesapeake Bay Retriever, which makes him a true water dog. Hubby was worried that our pup would go brain crazy and swim away from us once he touched the water, so he tied Deuce to 50 feet of nylon rope to be sure we didn't lose him.


Deuce's first dive


He looks pretty happy about things here


Deuce wanted to be sure he found a "stick" suitable for his size


We brought our pup to the bayou unprepared, and the only sticks I could find were not enough to keep Deuce happy. He promptly ate this stick


After eating the "excuse for a stick" that I presented him, Deuce rediscovers his stick



Does this dog looks upset? Nope!




Trying to shake of the water while he's still in the water




Deuce swam up and down the bayou for about 20 minutes, completely satisfied


After about 30 minutes we noticed that something under the water was taking Deuce's attention and decided to get him out of the water. Hubby thinks it was a gator. Me? I think it was crabs.



Here's a peaceful shot I took looking down the bayou. This has got to be one of the prettiest places I've ever spent time in.

It was a well-spent Saturday. Our adopted "puppy" experienced his first of many swims and we were there to share it with him. I'm glad that Deuce has come into our lives, making it a little richer.