On a beautiful day in the late spring in upstate New York, we watched as Cookie and her littermates, at merely 4 weeks of age, playing and tumbling on the breeder’s sunny porch. Among the pack was a little kitten of similar age but much more agile, prancing around the wobbly puppies. We were both giddy from the cuteness overload, but we didn’t realize that when Cookie finally came home with us a few weeks later, she would bring along something more than the typical puppy playfulness. Cookie was just a little peanut back then, but we noticed the feline streak in her right from the start. She liked to communicate with her paws, and she would stalk a toy from a distance then pounce on it. I think growing up with a kitten at the early stage of her life really did have an impact on her behavior, and it was certainly an interesting thing to observe. Even to this day, when Dobby, her little brother, is being obnoxious, Cookie would not be shy about giving him a good smack on the head to remind him who the boss is.
We call Cookie our sassy girl because she is not only athletic but is also full of spunk. And being a toy fanatic, she makes sure the rules are known: 1) All toys go through her first, especially the new ones and, 2) No toys should be played without her, um, “supervision.”
Cookie is extremely smart. From a very young age, she was able to identify her toys (and there were LOTS of them) by name. She also has incredible problem-solving skills. An example would be when we bought a new bed for her a while back, and her little bro immediately planted himself in there and refused to move. Cookie tried to negotiate a deal with Dobby so she could have her bed back. We think she gave a pretty good shot despite Dobby’s shameless butt.
We didn’t know a lot about dogs when Cookie first came into our life, but she has taught us so much about what it means to love and be loved, to understand and be understood. She’s very loving, always craves attention from anyone and everyone, and most importantly, she is a wonderful big sister to Dobby by putting up with his silly antics and smothering Frenchie kisses without a complaint. She’s amazing, beautiful, and will always have a special place in our heart.
Breed: Boston Terrier Place of Birth: New York DOB: May 14, 2002 Nickname: CookieMon, The Little One, Magic Cookie Likes: Falling asleep sucking on a toy, sun basking, and smacking Dobby on the head Pet-Peeves: Cold weather, getting wet, and mommy & daddy having disagreements Quirky Tid-bit: Complete belly makeover when season changes
Our Similarities: We both embrace the inner cat in us, frown upon cold weather, and we think girls rule! Trivia: The Boston Terrier is the first genuinely American breed. A result from selective breeding of the Bulldog and the white English Terrier in the Boston area during the 1870s, the breed was recognized by the AKC in 1891. Lively and highly intelligent, the Boston Terrier has won the nickname “the American Gentleman” not just for the dapper appearance, but also for the excellent disposition & winning personality.
At the beginning we wanted to have a purebred dog, but once we visited a shelter and saw many wonderful cats and dogs, and how they looked like in the kennels; bored, sad or looking at you with their special looks, we decided to get a dog from the pound. Soon Puppy Pound Rescue had a litter of pit/lab puppies — 3 males and 4 females.
Bim was the biggest puppy of the litter, most playful. Later actions revealed the secret that he was definitely ‘Alpha puppy’ of the litter – first to play, first to eat, always in the middle of the action. This did not change much – he still has energy like a small power plant, curious, ready for adventure, outgoing and friendly.
Breed: Mutt Place of Birth: Somewhere around Lake Tahoe. DOB: Probably beginning of December 2007 Nickname: Bemoleh, Bambushka Likes: Explore new places, play “catch me – if you can” games with other dogs or people, chase rabbits and deer. Pet-Peeves: When Bim is in the crate and the cat teases him with her fluffy tail walking slowly around the crate Quirky Tid-bit: Loves fruits: peaches, watermelons, plums, and overall is pretty much everything. Our Similarities: I think Bim has more similarities with my teenage son, than with me: they both like junk food, both love to play with their friends despite it being not a right time or right place, both need strong, firm discipline. Trivia: Mutts or mixed breeds are combinations of different breeds — one-of-a-kind dogs with unique looks and characteristics. Mixed dogs are, as their name suggests, a cross between two pure breeds, and it has often been observed that the crossed dog often times acquires the best characteristics from its parents. Mutt’s lineage of course, is much further from purebreds, however they are less likely to get sick and they have less health problems than many purebreds do.
Dobby is named after the bat-eared, sock-loving, pillowcase-wearing, house-elf in the Harry Potter books. House-elves are servants in J.K. Rowling’s words, but in our world, we, the humans (muggles), are really his servants, and we’ve been serving him faithfully since 2005.
Dobby is what we call a Velcro dog, and a mama’s boy especially. If he can’t be attached to me, he would at least have to be close to me. If he can’t be close enough to me, at least he would need to be able to see me. If he can’t see me, well then he would just wait by wherever he last saw me. On the couch, Dobby is my mobile armrest, and if I try to move him away, he slides right back as if I had embedded magnet in my thigh. I knew there was a reason we got an armless couch. Who needs armrests when you’ve got a Frenchie?
Before Dobby came to our life, Cookie the Boston Terrier was our only furkid. We toyed with the idea of getting her a little brother to keep company, but it wasn’t until Cookie turned three that Dobby waddled into our world with a silly grin on his face. As it turned out, we couldn’t have found a better match. Dobby plays with Cookie wonderfully and lets her be the boss; he doesn’t mind getting swatted by her iron paw every now and then and still always wants to snuggle up with her. Looking back, I don’t think Cookie was all that thrilled when Dobby first came home, but now I’m pretty certain she at least thinks he makes a very nice pillow
Dobby has brought us so much happiness and makes us appreciate all the simple joys in life. He entertains with those silly antics and showers us with love in his own special way. I never knew I would find it soothing to have a dog snore right into my ear at night, or how amused I get when he sniffs my face with such enthusiasm that a nice wet “nose spray” inevitably follows, and I just love it.
To us, Dobby is something very special, and we are truly blessed to have him in our life.
Breed: French Bulldog Place of Birth: Arkansas DOB: June 20, 2005 Nickname: BB (for Bon Bons), The Fat One, Monkey Boy Likes: Food Pet-Peeves: Not enough food Quirky Tid-bit: Sleeps with one arm bent backwards.
Sits with legs sticking out from behind.
Our Similarities: Easily amused, dance when happy, and we both love to eat!
Trivia: French Bulldogs are also affectionately called Frog Dogs. The exact origin seems to be a topic of debate, but when I first saw Dobby lying like this, the answer became quite clear. Just look at those little frog legs
