My Granddog, Izzy.
Oh, man. Its happening again.
I am like one of those women in a bad romance novel. I go into the relationship reluctantly, determined to maintain my distance. The first few interactions are difficult, to say the least. There are fights, tears, one misunderstanding after another. I become utterly convinced that this will never work out.
Then it happens, just like in those Harlequin books. There are unexpected tender moments, a brief cuddle, a kiss on the cheek. There comes a moment, when I least expect it, when I find the two of us side by side, gazing into each other’s eyes in a house that is suddenly empty and quiet.
And I fall in love. Even thought I told myself I wouldn’t do it.
I am so weak. Such a pushover.
Sigh.
The object of my affection moved into our house about a week ago with her owners, my daughter and her fiance. They also came with a cat, but that is a story for another post. My focus now is on my granddog, Izzy.
We have met Izzy before, of course. The kids brought her one afternoon for a visit, which took place through the flying fur of two old home-protective dogs meeting one young interloper. It wasn’t pretty.
They all came back and spent the night here at Christmas. We managed. Barely. Kate and I kept the peace by acting like two of the meanest recess ladies ever; we basically stood in the middle of the living room all day, and every time one of the dogs so much as twitched a whisker, we pointed at the offender and made the famous Cesar Milan “TSCHHH” sound. All was quiet, but no one relaxed.
So when they all needed to move in with us last week, I was pretty anxious. I knew I’d be fine with the humans; my daughter and I are ridiculously compatible, and having her come home is easy and fun and welcome. Sam is newer to us, but is a big warm teddy bear who stepped right in and became Paul’s instant sports buddy. The human relationships are fine, truly.
Its the dogs that have been the challenge.
My big dog, Tucker, is mostly just a sweet old dope. He never fights and never growls. He is a pacifist. Sadie, on the other hand, is determined to protect the homestead. She and little Izzy have fought from their first meeting. It was a girl-girl throwdown, with snarls and teeth-baring and attempts to rip off ears.
That first week with everyone together was tough. There was the unexpected outbreak of war when Izzy wandered into the room where Tucker was asleep; we barely managed to pull them apart. Then there was the moment when I stupidly tried to feed all three at once. I had barely opened the food bin when all three were gnashing teeth and barking in rage. If Sam hadn’t been there to haul them back, at least one would be earless now.
So I wasn’t feeling all that kindly toward Izzy for a while. She just wasn’t my type, you know? Kind of pushy, strutting around with her little black nails tapping on my floor. Sadie and I agreed that she was just a little too cocky, too perky, too in-your-face. We agreed that she had to go.
But then it started, slowly. The morning when she greeted me with a big slurpy cheek kiss, then laid her head on my foot. My cold heart melted just a tiny bit. And she knew it, too, she knew she was reeling me in. She started to sit beside me while I was working; I’d look up from my math papers, and she’d be gazing at me with those big brown eyes. I noticed her trying to ingratiate herself with my dogs, too. Oh, she was subtle, but she knew exactly what she was doing. She started to sniff Tucker in all the right places, and he began to trust her. Then it was walking side by side with my Sadie, trotting along like they were the best of friends.
I didn’t realize what was happening at first. I hardly noticed what I was feeling. But this morning, it hit me. And it hit me hard. Paul had taken our dogs for a hike, and Kate and Sam were still asleep. It was just me and Miss Izzy. And we went for a walk. She trotted beside me all around the neighborhood, and she kept glancing up with her goofy doggy grin. When we got back home, I gave her a cold drink, and a little doggy treat. I sat on the floor, with my back to the sofa. Izzy settled right beside me, her chin on my knee, her left leg draped over my thigh. She gave a big sigh, rolled that brown eye my way, and went to sleep.
Dammit.
I’m in love.
Empty Nest, Full Life 
Perfect description of doggy love.
I remember when we got our dog, Kling, who followed Okie. I looked him in the eye and said: “I’m not gonna love you like I did Okie”. He was a tiny puppy who had just eaten a d his belly was distended. Kling looked at me and fell over from his fat tummy. I was hooked. But I was right — I loved him differently.
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Funny, I remember looking at my second child, and fearing that I couldn’t possibly love him as much as I loved his sister.
I was wrong, but I did love him differently! And the third one I loved in his own special way, too.
Hmmmmm. Thanks for the inspiration. I sense a blog post brewing……
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A friend of mine on facebook (who, by the way, is one of the funniest people I know) has a dog by the same name. Izzy is a very loving dog, but as Lorna puts it, “is a complete spazz.” A spazz she loves dearly 🙂 What’s it about that name, I wonder? 🙂
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Haha!!! Must be that double ZZ, don’t you think?
My Izzy is a spazz, too. We call her “Princess Prancy Paws” because of the way she sort of dances around the house all day. So funny!
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Two things:
Thing one–my Friend Lorna. Here are a couple of quotes from her facebook timeline:
“Just heard Japan got the 2020 summer Olympics. No worries about leaking nuclear power plants then? Whoo Hoo! Can’t wait to see the three legged races!!”
“I just put a load of clothes in the washer and you know what I did? I put a red t-shirt in with white clothes. But no…it gets better! Then I threw a pair of jeans in on top of the mess. I’m so crazy I can’t handle myself.”
“heard Kathy Dunderdale on the radio today talking about the incredible opportunities for workers and how more people are employed in our province than ever before and that now is the time for workers to be more optimistic about the future than ever. Then I swear I heard the ice jingling in the background as she was mixing up that big jug of kool aid.” Note Kathy D is our premier–the equivalent of a State Governor.
and this…
“Falling into bed exhausted after a heavy day and I see this little spider lowering himself down from the light straight towards me. So I gently took him and the web he was hanging off and brought him in the spare room and showed him a deadly spot on the bookshelf to make a web. He was working away at it when I left. And then it occurred to me. I really am as loopy as I sometimes fear I am. Oh well. Goodnight.”
one more funny one:
“This happened just now.
Me: Yes.
Telemarketer: Is this Lorna Yard.
Me: No. Who’s this.
Telemarketer: May I please speak to Lorna Yard.
Me: Can you tell me the nature of your business.
Telemarketer: Uhhh….is Mrs. Yard there please.
Me: This is actually Constable Connie Swayles and I am at the scene of a homicide. Now. It seems strange to me you would call as we are conducting our investigation. Can you please give me your address and telephone number so I can follow up?
*click*
Lol. I’ve been waiting for a while to use that one.”
“Lady walks into Tim Hortons, almost slips on the floor, I ask if she’s ok and she says ‘Holy f#%* almost fell right on me hole!’ then she quickly says ‘oh excuse my language. Me arse.’ lol. I’m still laughing!!”
Thing Two: Izzy–
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Hahahaha! On all counts!
I think that I need to be FB pals with your pal……
and that Izzy is so much calmer and funkier than our Izzy!!
Thanks!
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I am so glad it all worked out for you. And delighted to hear your daughter is home, how lovely. We had two dogs and they hated each other, for fourteen years. It was a nightmare, but we stuck it out and eventually old age got one of them and peace was ours.
That is why my husband disliked so much the idea of a puppy. However he is now completely mad about her.
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Oh, my husband completely rejected the idea of a puppy until he fell head over heals for our first one. Whom he know loves more then he loves me…….
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So nice to learn of each step along the way as you fell in love with Izzy. You describe her behavior so intimately that I can tell it is genuine affection you both feel for each other. Very dear.
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Thank you! Sadie is still reserving judgement; they had a wicked row this afternoon. 😦
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So what does Sadie have to say about this?
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Well…..when I wrote the post, I though Sadie was on board. Tonight, however, as we came in the door and the dogs were all squished in the doorway, Izzy tried to eat Sadie’s face off. At the moment, I have one lying on each of my feet……..
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Aw, she`s beautiful!
Love from GreatGrandma!
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She is….I only hope we can keep her here…. She and Sadie are arch enemies….:-(
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