Bodacious Boomer

Yesterday morning I put Gizmo, our Yorkie/chihuahua mix, inside my robe against my body to help keep him warm since the furnace was on the fritz. I cinched my belt tight and Giz snuggled in so he wouldn’t slip out the bottom of my robe. He has been grouchy for the last few days because it’s been chilly, not only outside, but in the house as well. He has the thinnest coat of any of our pack so he’s a South Beach kinda guy- a lover of warm weather that is. Last year Evelyn made him a green plaid lumberjack looking jacket to keep him warm. He loved it and was visibly unhappy when I had to take it off him to wash it. (He’d actually go and sit by washer til it was ready for him to wear again).

He’s outgrown the coat from last year, so Evelyn has been working on a bigger one for him. Since last winter he’s put on about 3.5 lbs. On a dog that only weighed 6.5 lbs., that’s a lot. No one’s sure just how he gained the weight. Having six dogs I don’t watch while each one eats. Gizmo isn’t overweight according to the vet; however he does look broader across the chest. (Maybe he’s been on doggie steroids without telling me). That might help explain his sudden outbursts. Or perhaps he’s bi-polar. Can dogs be bi-polar? He can be the sweetest dog on earth one minute and then….not. All of our dogs are rescues so we’re never exactly sure what they went through before they came to us. Once when we had him at the vet he went nutso and tried to pick a fight with a mastiff. (It seems it’s always the little guys who have something to prove). Luckily the mastiff looked at Giz and said “I poop bigger than you”.

Gizmo was a happy camper snuggled inside my robe until I sat on the couch and the rest of our pack came over to see where he’d gone. When Daisy got close to me, he popped up from inside the robe like a psychotic prairie dog, snarling at Daisy and any of the others he deemed were too close. While attempting to extricate psycho from my robe, Blondie came over to give me some love. As I started to tell Gizmo “No. Be nice!”, Blondie came over and gave me a doggie kiss which, unfortunately with my mouth open, turned into a French kiss.  Such is life. Just an ordinary day around here.

The furnace repair guy came last night and waved his magic wand. We have heat! It’s a good thing since it’s forecast to be a low of 28 in a night or two. It may even snow here Friday night. It snowed in December for an hour or so a last year ago. People in Houston just go outside and stand with their heads tilted up looking like confused chickens when it snows here. Once, when it snowed here when I was growing up, the local drug store (remember them?) completely ran out of film. We had 2 whole inches that day! Go ahead and laugh. (I know you are). But it’s a big deal here.

A fairy Godmother came and went in the blink of an eye last night. She left a present for Gizmo. Evelyn delivered Gizmo’s new coat for him. He saw what it was and came right over to me and put his head down so I could slip it on him. He’s a happy little guy again- at least for now.