James and I have been without a spotted dog – or any dog – for three months now. Hard to believe that much time has passed since we said goodbye to Boo. The house has certainly been quieter, and we haven’t had to help anyone up and down off the couch. Or the loveseat. Or chair. Or back to the couch again. (Someone had a tough time settling in one spot for very long.) James also hasn’t been roused at four in the morning to chaperone someone on the couch.
Odd what you miss.
One thing we haven’t, though, is the hair. Boo (and all the Basset Hounds before) were great at leaving hair wherever they went. And even places they didn’t. Three months later, and we’re still finding tumbleweeds under furniture. But as much as we miss her, sweeping floors once a week instead of once or twice a day has certainly been nice.
And then The Floof landed last weekend.
We agreed to dog sit my brother-in-law’s Golden Retriever/Great Pyrenees mix while he was away camping and our sister-in-law was visiting James’s parents in Colorado. AJ has always been a sweet pup – not to mention a bit goofy – so we knew we’d enjoy having him around the house. Plus I knew James would be happy having a warm body to hang out with while he was on conference calls.
But shortly after AJ arrived, we were reminded of just how much any one dog can shed. And why calling him “The Floof” seems very appropriate. Granted he has that beautiful Golden Retriever color. Just a lot of it judging by how much we’ve swept up in the last week. And the random puffs that pop up when plopping onto the couch. Apparently he’s figured out the best places to perch, and none of them are the large dog bed still in the living room.
We do have a Roomba, which might help. But I also picture it getting halfway across the living room and deciding it wasn’t worth the effort. Or AJ deciding we’d unleashed a new toy and taking the opportunity to chase it around the house. He has been barking at the cats in the front yard and one random squirrel across the street. Why not the vacuum?
Regretfully we’ll say goodbye to him on Sunday when his mom comes to pick him up. He’ll be excited to go home for sure. But our place will be quieter again, and we’ll miss having him around. Although I suspect for the next month we’ll still be finding little bits of The Floof.
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