Beauty is on the inside

Today's post will be a little different. I'll be discussing my forth child, Woody. Shortly after The Knight and I started dating, we aquired a dog. My idea of course. The Knight is so dang practical and I am straight up emotions. Anyway, after seeing an adorable puppy one day, I decided I had to have one. Not more than five minutes of thought, no research into the breed. Just got in the car and went and got me a puppy. I had already met the man of my dreams, all I needed was a baby to satisfy those maternal instincts that kicked in whenever I imagined my life with such a wonderful guy. Well, the dog turned out to be a dud of sorts-WAY too hyper to keep in the house, bred to retrieve ducks but had to pass the day defuzzing tennis balls and tormenting the cat. We loved her, but she had to be an outside dog and was therefore not much of a family member. So when she passed away last summer, I started bugging The Knight about getting another dog that would be more a part of our family. This time I was going to be smart and do my research. So after hours on the internet googling "best breed for children" I ran upon this new hybrid breed that has gained immense popularity due to it's good nature and low shedding. I went crazy over the pictures of these Golden Doodles-half standard poodle, half golden retreiver. Having never actually seen one in real life was not an issue for me because they were soooo cute and to satisfy The Knight, I did tons of research. (Read that as looked for one that wasn't too expensive) I presented my case and with the idea that this would be a dog that the little man could grow up with, The Knight actually went along with me pretty easily. So we made the preparations to welcome a new puppy into our family. I watched crate training videos on Youtube, bought toys and treats, corresponded with the breeder and we picked out the puppy aptly named Peter. When the day came to go and get him we were so excited. The Knight renamed him Woody after his beloved '87 Jeep Wagoneer. This dog has stolen my heart. He was easily house trained, slept well in his crate, and really was as cute in real life as he was on the web. When the kids would go off to bed, Woody and I would have a great time rolling in the floor playing and snuggling. The Knight would be watching the SCiFi channel, of course. (This was before my blog, you see.) So this little puppy grew very quickly and soon outgrew his crate and almost outgrew us. The little man would step off the deck and before he could make it to the trampoline, only about 12 feet away, Woody would charge out of nowhere and side swipe the little guy and literally lift him into the air. Then Zoey would venture out and Woody would chase her all the way there, nipping her ankles until she made it to safetly. Then he'd grab Allison by the hand and try to escort her as she yelled at the top of her lungs. It's been a rough road, bringing up that dog. Reality is that the kids don't even like him that much. He's gotten so big that they really dodn't know what to do with him and he is always interupting their plans. I, on the other hand, have fallen more in love with him everyday. Being a stay-at-home mom can be kind of lonely sometimes and he has been my best friend. Then with surgery and losing my dad, he has been such a comfort to me, a true companion, a big furry place to bury my tears. I just loved his big furriness and the way he could win over a crowd. I felt like I was with a celebrity every time we went for his obedience class at Pet Smart. Everyone wanted to pet him and comment on all his fur and ask questions about what kind he was and about how big he was going to get. My research suggested he would be beteen 55 and 65 pounds, but I was starting to worry that he was getting to be more like 90 to 100. We had to board him at the vet while we were in St. Augustine and when I called to make his reservation at the dog spa while he was there, I must have mentioned the word "shave". I was thinking more that he needed a nice cut so that he could be cool as the warm weather approaches. I think I must have said "shave". Yeah, I know I did. Shave.... He was getting into he habit of going outside and digging and rolling and coming in smelling like who-knows-what. I'd try to bathe him and good grief, that was a major chore added to all my other chores. So I thought to myself that a nice haircut was in order. I guess I used the wrong word. WELL, obviously the groomer must love to get "shave" on her instruction sheet because she went berserk. My once adorable shaggy ball of adorable fur, came home looking like a not-so-adorable sheared sheep. Karie picked him up for us before we got home, so when we first saw him, my heart stopped. Who was that dog and what did they do with my Woody? This dog was all legs and skinny and ridiculous-looking. For a moment, I thought my best friend was U-G-L-Y. I feel bad typing that, but it's true. Of course the Knight just fed into my fright and started in with his comments about how now it wouldn't hurt so bad to give him away and how he was going to have to wear a sweater and on and on. The girls just looked at him in shock as he pranced though the room showing off his new do. They couldn't keep ther hands off his silky body and we were all just trying to adjust our eyes to this new creature. Finally, I just got down in the floor and started to laugh/cry. (We had been in the car 10 hours by this time of the night). About that time I got a text from Karie that said "Beauty is on the inside." I literally felt my heart twinge. That was so true. He was still my adorable Woody on the inside; he was just different on the outside. I had to be reminded....

Before

After

PS-At least now we know he's not overweight!