Moose and me...

So my dear friend Kate used to share her frustrations with me about her dogs. I understood. After all, she has a dalmation, a bull terrier, and to kids - umm, no thanks! That's a lot of work!! To be fair, she also felt bad that she was't able to five the dogs the love and attention she once did. Maybe a love/hate relationship?? That being said, I just knew that I could NEVER feel that way about my dear pup Moose. He was my best friend and compan

ion during some lonely days in Vegas...not to mention that he's too stinkin' cute and only 7 pounds! Leaving him on the mainland for 3 months when we moved to Hawaii was heartbreaking :( So why now do I feel less than 100% love for my Moose?? What changed? I find myself asking - is it me or is it the dog?

Well a lot changes when you have a baby, I mean A LOT! I never cared for cleaning up after him, but now I really despise using what little energy I have left after Claire on Moos

e.

For example...

• Muddy paws running around my house (the owner thought it would be awesome to carpet the entire place with creamy white carpet) This requires cleaning the carpet and the dog. And a dog bath means a dog blow out b/c he gets really matted if I don't blow dry his hair. This is all VERY time consuming!!
• I love LOVE love to vacuum...but I absolutely HATE when my freshly vacuumed floor is littered with such things as stuffing from a moose dog toy, crumbs for moose dog food, or sticks and leaves and other nature things that hitched a ride on Moose during our walks.
• Dirty paws that I don't realize are dirty but they are and he sits on my nice new duvet and licks at his paws...dirt and dog drool combine to make muddy mess on my bed and carpets...red dirt. Did you know that they use this dirt to stain shirts?? Check it out at http://www.dirtshirt.com/
  
  

So I bitch and moan and complain and shoot him the dirtiest of dirty looks. And I wonder why my dog is suddenly acting up and being such a pain in my butt. In my head I've turned Moose into a villain. I've convinced myself that Moose is trying to make

everything my life difficult.

But if I'm really honest with myself and everyone else Moose is no different than he's ever been - he hasn't really changed at all.

But in my defense - he is a stubborn little shit! And Moose is too smart for my own good. Tell me Moose, why is running with me so hard that you have to sit and rest in the shade? I seriously had to let King Moose ride on the stroller so that I could finish my run. (see picture below) Why is it so difficult to run/walk on the same side of the walkway as me so that we aren't tripping everyone else with your leash? Why do you think it's ok to take off running down the beach the opposite direction in which we are walking? I know you are capable of behaving - I see it when we're out running and walking with Daddy (with the exception of the beach).

Point of this post? I'm venting. I love my dog, I promise. He is just driving me absolutely CRAZY and I never thought that I would feel so much disdain for Moose. Just trying to come back to this place with him...

So Moose - if you're listening - Mommy always loves you, she just doesn't like you sometimes ;)