Little Tot is settling in nicely, so I thought it would be fun to share some of the recent posts about the little guy:
Happy Sunday!
—TPP
Little Tot is settling in nicely. Dr. Wife remarked last week that it feels like he’s been living with us for much longer than a few days, and she’s right—he’s become a part of our little family very quickly. Even Nugget is warming up to her little charge, and the two of them have pretty lopsided wrestling matches.
Naturally, Dr. Wife and I have been taking pictures of Tot nonstop, and I’m already exploiting showcasing him on on YouTube. Here are a few short Tot vids I’ve uploaded:
Big news: Dr. Wife and I got a new puppy! He’s a ten-week-old rat terrier named Tot.
We adopted Tot from Renaissance Rat Terriers, a breeder and veterinarian in Knoxville, Tennessee. This weekend saw our little family (including Nugget) bundling up to the mountains to pick up the newest member of our family.
Well before Murphy passed, Dr. Wife and I had discussed getting a rat terrier puppy. My parents have two, and they are really great dogs. Dr. Wife also thinks they’re adorable, and she wanted Nugget to have a little companion.
Nugget helped to raise my in-laws’ little pug, so we figured she could do it again. Our hope is that it will help keep Nugget young and active, while also offering a good canine role model for Tot.
At the time of pickup, Tot weighed around 6.5 pounds. He was the “runt” of the litter when he was born in July, but he’s surpassed a couple of his sisters. We’re big fans of the runts in our family; they seem to make the best dogs!
The breeder was fantastic. She observed each puppy closely to see how it would align with each of the prospective adopting families. We emphasized that we wanted a cuddly, easy-going pup that was fine being a couch potato. The breeder called me when the puppies were around nine-weeks-old and gave me a detailed rundown of which dogs were not a fit for us, before revealing that Tot was the best choice for us.
So far, it seems she is right! He is a sweet little guy. As I’m writing this post, he’s asleep in my lap. He’s definitely a puppy—he gets into everything and has a tendency to equate my out-of-the-way office as his personal bathroom (we’re working on that)—but once he’s had his playtime, he’s out like a light. His potty training is going well overall, too; he’ll often go to the door and let me know he needs to go out to take care of business, the aforementioned accidents notwithstanding.
Nugget and Tot are still feeling each other out. Tot very much wants to hang with Mama Nugs, but Nugget will sometimes remove herself from the situation just for a break. Tot sleeps in his crate at night, which he doesn’t care for at first, but he settles in quickly and rests well, giving Nugget some time with us without a pesky puppy interjecting himself.
He’s also a very photogenic guy, with his gorgeous tricolor coat. He’s blue, brown, and white (that grey fur is “blue” in the dog world), with striking grey-green eyes.
The rest of this post is a photo dump, because we all know everyone is here to look at puppy pictures:
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I was clearing out my phone recently and came upon some fun animal videos that never made it to YouTube. So after some frantic genetic engineering editing, I slapped these puppies (well, only one puppy, and she’s eight) onto YouTube. My haste is your gain!
Remember Gumby? He was that green, bipedal, Claymation humanoid with the orange pony, Pokey. I always liked Gumby and his amorphous, shape-shifting ways.
Apparently, our three-legged dog, Nugget, has beef with the Gumbster. She has a Gumby toy that she loves to shake around. Lately, she’s been pulling Gumby’s soft inner fluff out the poor fellow, and yours portly ends up being the one picking it up. Perhaps Nugget is trying to get me to exercise a bit more.
What Nugget has not been mauling—thankfully—are the birds that come to our bird feeder. I bought a ten-dollar bird feeder at Lowe’s and hung it with a nail outside of our sunroom. Dr. Wife loves the birds, especially Peepers (a female cardinal) and her “boyfriend,” Big Red (a male cardinal).
What’s cool is that the birds are so enamored with their treats, they’ll let me walk right up to the window and look at them. I can get some pictures of them, although they tend to come out a little dark thanks to the UV coating we have over the windows. One day I’ll do a post of nothing but bird pictures (and my self-indulgent commentary).
Today is not that day. Instead, I’ll be sharing a video of a cute bird eating—and of Nugget locked in battle with her Claymation foe:
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With Murphy’s passing, I figured I’d reblog this series of posts, dating back to before I picked her up for the first time. Yesterday would have been five years (I believe) since I first picked her up—her “gotcha” day. I was blessed to have that much time with this wonderful, loving dog.
I won’t say more at this point, as her passing is still very raw, but I hope you’ll enjoy this celebration of Murphy’s life. The way the old girl was doing even six months ago, I figured she’d probably keep ticking, but time caught up with her, as it will all of us. It just goes to show that we don’t know when Death will come knocking on our door; better make the most of the time we have with our loved ones, even the furry ones.
With that, here is “TBT^16: Big News: TPP is Going to the Dogs“:
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It’s been a whirlwind Wednesday for yours portly and Dr. Wife. Yesterday we were both worn out between her onboarding and my long day of duties around the house, and we had to get up early to head to Florence, South Carolina for a day of “life admin” errands.
We got home mid-afternoon, only to discover that Nugget, our three-legged dog, has been selected as one of a handful of canines to receive a (mostly) free photography session. Part of her prize is a full-sized portrait with Dr. Wife!
The rub is that the studio is in Summerville, South Carolina, which is a little over two hours away. After making some hasty arrangements for Murphy’s care and feeding for the next twenty-four hours, I booked us a dog-friendly hotel (and a continental breakfast—ooooh, baby!), and we’re setting out at some point this evening.
More to come, dear readers! I’ll share photos of our last-minute adventure, as well as Nugget’s grand portrait, soon!
Happy Wednesday!
—TPP
My old bull terrier, Murphy, loves winter. She really seems to come alive in the cold, and even loves frolicking in the snow.
This Friday, I have three videos of Murphy adapting to some wintry climes:
Here’s something a bit different for today’s Open Mic Adventures. I’m never one to let anything go to waste, and that includes silly, improvised cover songs that I send as voice texts.
One morning a couple of weeks back I sang a “cover” of “Riders on the Storm,” the song by The Doors, but changed it to “Murphy on the Storm.” I amused myself so much with my shenanigans that I texted a rendition to my older brother. I then took that audio and plugged into iMovie on my phone, along with a picture of Murphy.
The result is absurdist hilarity.
About four years ago this week I got Murphy, my chunky bull terrier. She was eight at the time, and is twelve now.
Quite a bit has happened in the intervening years, but good old Murph has always been there. And now she’s getting a mom in Dr. Fiancée and a canine sister (about whom she is probably less enthusiastic).
The life expectancy for bull terriers is between eleven and thirteen years, but Murphy seems to be doing well. She spends her days relaxing and enjoying treats, and she still baffles me with her love of sunning herself in 100-degree weather. Murphy is enjoying her golden years in relative luxury and comfort—at least, the meager kinds of luxury and comfort I can provide her.
With that, here is 11 July 2024’s “TBT^4: Big News: TPP is Going to the Dogs“:
