PAWS: I'm Having A Mommy Moment....

As many of you Cozies know, I am a proud dog owner. (For those who don’t know me by Twitter, the technical definition I like to use is “Herder of Large, Goofy Dogs.”) Dogs, labs in particular, have been a big part of mine and my husband’s life together. He bought me a chocolate lab puppy, Kahlua, to commemorate our engagement in 2005. We raised her and bred her with his dog of nine years, Rocky, which led to a litter of seven. (When I say dogs have been a big part of our life together, I really mean it. At one time, there were nine living under our roof.) Most of the puppies were given to good homes. Sadly, Rocky and Kahlua have since passed on, but three of their little chillins remain with us. They turned six in October. Despite the fact that they are such a huge part of my life, I feel I don’t brag enough about them here at the ol’ blog. So I’m introducing a new PAWS feature to The Cozy Page and invite all writers who share my love of pets to guest blog about their furry friends on Wednesdays! (To set up a PAWS guest date, send an email to amber@amberleighwilliams.com and I’ll be happy to put you on the PAWS guest schedule. Be sure to include PAWS in the subject line.) Since Sassy has participated in the VID-LOG here at Cozy before (in the beginning stages of my library - happy to say shelves have been built for me and office has improved much....Episode #2 coming soon...), she will act as our PAWS moderator! Looking forward to sharing the love every Wednesday!

Sassy

This week the hub and I took two of our mini-me’s to the vet clinic for their yearly check-up. First of all, I love our vet clinic. The doctors and nurses were kind enough to take in a good deal of those misplaced cats and dogs from the horrible neglect of the Summerdale kennel earlier this year. Many of the cats are already up for adoption and it looks like the dogs will be ready to adopt next month. (If you are looking to adopt a rescue and you live in or around Alabama or any of the Gulf Coast states, please consider taking home one of these animals. They’ve been through a lot and all deserve great homes and great love….) Many of the ladies in the vet’s office lunch at the restaurant the hub manages, too, so it’s always nice to see a friendly, familiar face.  

Jerry Lee

It’s coming up on spring and mosquito season so the waiting room was jam-packed with dogs of all shapes and sizes. Thankfully, there was only one cat. Otherwise, there might have been a scuffle or two. Our youngest lab, Sassy, cowered behind our feet while the middle child, Jerry Lee, made a few new friends. He has an ego, our Jerry, so when a full-grown Harlequin Great Dane entered the waiting room soon after we arrived, things got pretty entertaining. I think it might have been the first time Jerry has felt dwarfed in his entire life. I’m sure the episode has given our proud boy somewhat of a complex. He tried to be the tough guy when an Australian shepherd puppy licked him in the nose (CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!!), but we know he loves babies as much as we do!  

Duke & Jerry Lee

He felt much better upon entering a private room, licking every inch of the floor to mark his territory and gauge who’d ventured there before while Sassy gazed woefully out the window and needed sweet-talking from both parents. (We left our oldest pup, Duke, at home with a babysitter. Because they’ve been together since birth, separating the three amigos is tough work.) Our vet came in and Jerry happily volunteered to go first when he realized the doctor had been handling a chocolate lab in heat an hour before. While the vet checked him over, Jerry lapped at his pant-leg and drooled on his shirt. His check-up went over quickly and without hitch…unless of course you count the slobber, but the vet’s thankfully a good sport. Sassy was skittish, mostly because the vet couldn’t seem to draw enough blood for a test. After several tries in three different legs, I don’t know who was more traumatized – the 96-lb dog or her human mother. Also we were instructed to lay off the groceries. I’ll admit, 96 and 85 pounds of Labrador are quite enough on a leash, respectively, particularly when the latter is a curious and determined little badger. So now Jerry Lee and Sassy are on diets while their elder brother is on medication for a flea allergy and can’t seem to get enough food, thanks to the steroids. We’re sure he’ll be happy to pick up the other’s slack in the food department.

Being a dog owner is one of the most rewarding aspects of my life. For me, writing would not be the same without a furry one underfoot….