sissyboy

as well we know, and much we love, this is ernie.

he's laying in what appears to be an uncomfortable position (poor spinal alignment, jinked up paw under his face, etc.) after he very thoughtfully performed his legendary turn-down service for me.

he's a medium/large doggers, and he would love nothing more than to eat kids, cats, squirrels, and other dogs. in fact, all the neighborhood kids have stopped cutting through my yard because they're a-scared of him. he has actually a rather nasty side where these sorts of creatures are concerned.

but he's an enormous sissyhead. he's afraid of paper (if a sheet falls, say, off of a coffee table), cardboard boxes, and just fallingness in general. i've got quite a history of falling down stairs. if i am ever navigating stairs with ernie and i fall, he winds up afraid of both me (the faller) and the stairs (the things that instigated the falling). sucks, because almost everywhere we've lived has had stairs outside the door.

sissyboypet is also afraid of the dark. yes, you read that right. part of it might be situational - he had a horrrrrrrible kennel experience in florida when he was really young (among other things, they were turning the hose on him in his kennel - rendering him a sissyboy, afraid of water, fences, hoses, and strangers) which was followed by a long car trip and a resulting move into a new house (altogether too many changes at once). the other part of it is because he's a freak. sad to say, but true.

things he has destroyed because i have neglected to leave a light on: a pillow, his bed, even cowgirls get the blues (luckily, i hated that book, so no big loss), and $6 in singles.

today, i had to work from 7:30 - 5:30 and go to class from 6 - 9. knowing i'd likely be out of the house from 6:45 am - 9:30 pm, i had my dog walker come by in the afternoon, take him for a walk, give him a potty break, and feed him dinner. i forgot to tell her to leave the light on when she left.

and he tried to destroy his all-time favorite toy after the sun went down.

(he didn't succeed completely because it's a kong which is the best dog toy ever)