A Dog Called "No!"

Mango came to us fresh from the bayou at 5 weeks old. She was the only one of her litter to survive a miscarriage her mother, Ginger, had 2 weeks before giving birth to little "Miracle" The name was fittingly applied at the shelter where she was born.

I happened to hear by word-of-mouth about a trip some rescue workers were going to be making up this way from Louisiana in an old camper crammed full of over 70 dogs and cats looking for new homes. I quickly searched the link I was sent and immediately saw the picture of the young mom and her lone pup. It was early so Zach was still here getting ready for work. I showed him the picture and the decision was made in an instant. It was fate and there was no turning back.

Ginger and 'Miracle' arrived in May and we brought them home on Mothers' Day.

As she was learning to walk, her name was going through an evolution. Already having a rabbit named Valentine, we traced Miracle's birthday back to Easter or around then. "Easter would be a cute name," we thought. "Or Lilly, it's an Easter flower." Or something to pay homage to where she came from. Lou, Hurricane, Lucy (in honor of the woman who drove the camper non-stop for 2 days). In the end we decided it really wasn't our thing to change such a meaningful name, so we went with Miracle and then took to calling her 'Mango' for short because that's how Jacob pronounced Miracle. She's got a lot of nicknames. Wiggles, Trouble, The Puppy...

But for all the names we've taken to calling her, the one I think she is most apt to respond to is simply "No!" Because, to be honest, she's driving me a little crazy these days. "These days" as in the last 4 months or so. She's really cute, so you'd think I'd be able to put up with the puppy behavior, but I have this thing with dog slobber. I just don't like it. And the wet noses, not for me. The chewing, oh the chewing. At first it was actually sort of refreshing because there was a lot of stuff around here that needed a good excuse to find its way to the garbage. But now, she's pretty much chewed it all, she's left her mark on every piece of furniture we have. Good thing none of it is new. We think maybe when we are done having kids and the youngest is maybe 5 or so, that we might be able to get something nice.

I really should have started this blog 6 months ago when we first brought 'the girls' home. It was quite a ride in the beginning. At first something outrageous happened with them everyday. It just won't be as funny writing about it in hindsight. There was the time though that we had them for about a month, and at this point we didn't have a crate for Mango yet, we didn't believe in locking her up like that. She got stuck between the radiator and the wall and couldn't get out. She was crying and crying and Ginger was just sitting there helpless and it was 1 in the morning. We thought she was going to die. And every time we were able to loosen up the radiator, instinct told her to just keep on truckin' forward and then she'd get stuck a little more. Zach finally had to get his tools out and try to remove the radiator away from the wall. I don't know how we ever got her out from there...I hope someday to repress it completely.

So we have a crate, she's getting a little big for it by now, but from the day we brought it home it was her haven. When Jacob was getting a little crazy, he didn't even have to be coming after her at this point, she just knew what was coming and she'd head right for safety. These days she's bigger and is getting back at him a lot. And Jacob just can't stand her. Really, most days he announces "I don't like Mango." And I know he's serious, I understand how he feels. Oh well, a boy and his dog...

Ginger is another story though. He loves her. He thinks she has super-dog powers or something. The other day, he dropped a marker and it must have rolled under a kitchen appliance or something because we couldn't find it for anything. He said with all seriousness "Maybe Ginger will find it for me." Seriously, he has a really good sense of humor, but this was no joke. "Ginger can help me fold the laundry." You might be questioning multiple aspects of this sentence...and let me say for the record, yes, Jacob does fold the laundry. It's one of his favorite things to do. And cleaning? Forget it, he's totally there. I tell people he's going to be quite a catch. "Those lashes, that slim physique, and what is that? A man who cleans up after himself? Give me his number."

Well, in Jacob's eyes, Ginger can do it all. And she can understand it all. He'll sit there and have conversations with her...and sometimes I wonder if maybe she's talking back?