Today marks one month since the day Rex came into our lives; within only a day I couldn’t imagine NOT having him in our lives. He is an incredible gift to our family and has been a source of unmitigated joy and happiness. Every morning I wake up thinking “We have Rex!” Thinking about seeing his fuzzy face and petting his giant wiggly body is even better than the feeling I get when I wake up and think happily about the cup of coffee I’ll be consuming in short order, and that is really saying something.
I was surprised at how quickly he adapted to the rhythm of our household and to our daily schedule. I didn’t really know what to expect, but within a day or two he was perfectly in tune with our lives. We have had zero behavioural issues, and he has been perfectly delightful. I often look at him, marvelling at how perfectly suited he is to our family and how incredible it is that he became ours.
So it’s a Three For Thursday today, and it’s all about Rex.
- Rex Gets Steps. When my husband first broached the idea of having Rex, he said it will be nice for you to have a dog to go on your walks with, about which I weirdly got my back up. I am not lonely! I said snappily. I don’t need anyone to go with me for walks! I’m perfectly happy by myself! Well. That was true but also, walking Rex is so much fun. He really is a great companion and he’s very fun to watch at the offleash, as he plays and runs and rolls like a maniac in the snow. As a matter of fact, he’s actually changed my exercise priorities a little; usually at this time of year I would start running on the treadmill, not wanting to break my legs running on ice, but I find I’m not interested in that at all. I’d rather get all my cardio from the Peloton and the elliptical in my basement, and then save my hips and knees for extra-long walks in the heavy snow. We go a minimum of 5 kilometres a day, and I feel joyful throughout, just seeing his happiness. It’s true that I didn’t need the motivation of a dog to go for long walks, but I really like the motivation of a dog to go for long walks.
- Rex Scratches The Itch. I had made an appointment with the vet this week, as Rex was due for a few shots, and I wanted him to meet his new vet and transfer all his files from the old one. When I get up early to practice yoga, Rex is still sleeping in his crate; I had noticed in the past couple of days that he had been scratching a lot at that time. Well, dogs scratch, and I didn’t think a lot about it. The vet asked me if he had been scratching, and immediately he went into Scratching Overdrive. It was uncanny; right that moment he scratched and started biting at his fur. As she examined him, she said “Oh! That’s a louse!” People. It is amazing I didn’t faint dead away, as she grabbed a tiny comb, put the louse on a slide, and showed me. REX HAD LICE. My immediate question was CAN I CATCH IT, thinking of all hugs and pets and having my face and hair close to his body that has happened in the past month, but the Very Reassuring Answer was No. Lice doesn’t go between species. Just as I breathed a sigh of relief, I had my second question, How do we get rid of this? I imagined having to shave him bald in the midst of winter – would I need to find him a giant dog sweater? – or having to go through his fur with a tiny comb. IMAGINE. Fortunately, neither of those things are necessary; instead, he ate a special chewable treat that, as the vet says, kills the lice almost immediately and then he has another Very Special Treat in two weeks. My third question was HOW DID THIS HAPPEN. The vet said it came from another dog, of course, but I couldn’t imagine how. It has been so cold and snowy that we have hardly seen other dogs at the offleash, and besides, he didn’t have “extended physical contact” with any of them. The vet mentioned that it would likely come from a doggy daycare or similar, which we haven’t put him in, so it’s possible he had lice eggs this whole time – shudder – that just started hatching now – SHUDDER SHUDDER SHUDDER. Anyway, he’s treated, he isn’t scratching anymore, and I find it a bit amusing that I have gone through my entire life, including having two children in schools that frequently sent home Lice Notices, and I have never had to deal with it until now. Dog Lice is much preferable to People Lice, from what I have observed.
- Rex Is My Shadow. Rex is very affectionate to everyone in the family, but he seems especially attached to me. He just cannot be close enough. If I’m making dinner, he lies in the kitchen, forcing me to showcase my flexibility by stepping over him in gymnastic ways. If I go to sit in my reading chair, he will get up from 20 feet away to lie at my feet, because 20 feet is Just Too Far. If I’m on the Peloton, he lies beside it, and when I am in the bathroom, he will sit at the door until I open it. It is very cute, but it does make me feel low-level guilty when I leave the house. My husband was working at home and texted me this photo of him waiting at the back door, taken while I was at Costco.
I never thought I could ever love another dog, but Rex has proven otherwise, and every day I am so grateful to have been so very wrong. xo
Oh, what a lovely tribute to a good boy. Our dog is also the sort of dog who moves from room to room with me and I love how much she wants to be near us.
This sentence: I didn’t need the motivation of a dog to go for long walks, but I really like the motivation of a dog to go for long walks. This is me! I went for long walks pre-dog, but there’s something about waking up and knowing I’m almost immediately going to be heading outside with my best dog friend that really makes getting up in the mornings worth it every day. I would walk without her, but having a dog to walk with makes it all the better!
Yes, you understand completely! I have been going on long, mostly solo walks since the beginning of the pandemic, and I would continue…but it is just so much fun with Rex. Today we met two other Bernedoodles and a Bernese mountain dog and that has never happened before. So fun.
Happy Monthiversary Rex!!!! Yes it’s a fact that walking is so much more fun with a dog. And if there’s a pill for dog lice how come there isn’t a pill for people lice? Back in the bad old days when I worked in an office, my husband used to send me pictures of our dog waiting in the front hall for me to come home.
Our dog came into our lives unintentionally. My stepsons’ mom got a dog after the divorce, and one Christmas she was going out of town and my husband offer to let the dog stay at his house with the boys…and from that day on the dog has lived in whichever house the boys are staying at. It was an unusual path to dog ownership but we can’t imagine life without her.
That is a really great idea! Shared dog custody, and puppers never has to miss the boys!
Rex is beautiful and so is this tribute to him. We love our Lucy, a goldendoodle, and my husband and I walk her for miles and miles every day and we often marvel with gratefulness that Lucy “made” us start this habit. Lucy is also my shadow, but honestly why wouldn’t the mom be their favorite 😉
I agree! Yay for moms!
What a lovely tribute to lovely Rex, Nicole… He seems to have made such a difference in your days already! That picture of Rex waiting at the backdoor reminded me of a nearly ten-years-ago pic of Scout skooched right by the gate where I bid him goodbye…
(I don’t know how to attach the picture so am linking the post. Pic is at the very end. https://www.pocobrat.net/2013/05/scout-tales-1.html )
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW MAYAAAAAAAA!!! That is so cute.
We only had lice once (all 4 of us, when the kids were in kindergarten and 5th grade) and it was an ordeal getting rid of them. I wish we could have taken a pill.
I’m glad Rex has settled in so well.
Oh wow, that would have been absolutely awful!!!
Oh he is too cute and smart– and wise judge of character. Is it any wonder he’s smitten with you?
You are so sweet, Ally! Thank you xoxoxo
Aw. He is beautiful. I love his coloring. I’m very happy that he found you. Such a lovely story.
Now I am off to invent a chewable treat for humans to get rid of lice because WHY IS THIS NOT YET A THING? We have had lice scares but never had it. Counting my lucky stars. Curly’s hair? Yikes I shudder to think of it.
Oh wow, I cannot IMAGINE if Curly got lice. How would you even deal with it? You’d have to bring in a professional. That is not a job for an amateur. Fingers crossed you never walk THAT path.
I am so happy for you that you have Rex! And also that the lice treatment is so simple because ew.
Ew is right! My face when she said “it’s a louse” was like Alexis from Schitt’s Creek. Ew David.
Rex is perfect! My heart literally is bursting for you right now; I’m just so, so happy you each found each other. And YAY for the extra long walks together.
Also – let’s talk lice. Neither of my kids have had it and I keep hoping that I’ve managed to avoid this childhood issue…shudder. Thank goodness it can’t spread between species! I’m glad Rex is treated…but I’m also very glad you didn’t find a louse yourself. *double shudder*
I hope you never ever have to deal with it! As I said I never have BUT I have had many friends who have and it’s a nightmare.
It is quite clear from the pictures that Rex ADORES you. It is also quite clear from this ode to Rex; that you ADORE him equally. I’m so happy that he came into your lives. Obviously, this was where he is meant to be.
I think that is it exactly – it was meant to be!
I love Rex so much. He sounds like the exact right dog that came into your life at the exact right moment. (Except for the lice – ew ew ew ew ew ew thank goodness they cannot transfer to humans ew ew ew ew.) You always sound so joyful when you talk about him, and his photos always portray him as this incredibly adorable mixture of dignified and goofy. I want to snuffle my nose in his fur. (Post lice ew ew ew.)
PS You said that you go no fewer than 5 km with him and I had to look that up in miles because the US is stupid, and it made me HATE MILES. They are SO DUMB! And so irregular! Why can we not have wonderful and easy to multiply by kilometers?! The metric system is so much better!
(Of course, if we changed to the metric system I would be hopelessly lost and confused, so perhaps I wouldn’t wish to change midstream. But if I woke up tomorrow and a shift in the space/time continuum had happened, during which a time traveler had made sure the US followed the metric system long before I was born, I would be very happy.) (I mean. I wouldn’t be happy in that scenario, because I wouldn’t know about miles etc. But you know what I mean. IT SHOULD CHANGE.)
The metric system is better except when it comes to weight and height. When I hear 52 kilograms, I have no idea what it means. Similarly with 1500 centimetres. For that I have to translate into feet, inches, and pounds. But everything else, including temperature, makes so much more sense! Zero should indicate freezing, not 32. That makes no sense! But anyway, 5k is 3.1 miles.
I love Rex so much too, and you are right – he is the exactly right dog at the exact right moment. Also, he’s no longer “lousy” so yay.
Barkley would be so very happy to know that you fell in love with another dog, I am sure 🙂 (Well, how could you not? Look at Rex’ puppy face. I love him and I haven’t even met him.
We laugh because Barkley ate literally anything that was food, and Rex only eats dog food and meat, and we think that if they were together Barkley would explode from eating all the leftovers from Rex! Lol!
I want him!!! My husband is very, very, VERY anti-dog. I should say, it’s not that he doesn’t like dogs- he just does not want one in our home. His primary reasons are that he hates dog hair, he doesn’t want the added expenses, we are busy/ gone a lot and doesn’t want the hassle, and does not want any extra messes, damage, etc to our house in any way. Specifically, he is borderline obsessive about his hatred of getting dog hair on him. (I have assured him there ARE breeds that don’t shed, but the other reasons then fill in in place of that primary reason.) It’s honestly like his “hill to die on”- I’ve tried over the years to convince him, but it’s always a VERY hard no. And unfortunately, a dog is really something that the whole family needs to be on board about. So, I’ve had to accept this one! It’s ok… it is true that we are very busy, often gone all day at swim meets and games, etc., so I do agree that our lifestyle might make dog ownership extra challenging in not a great way. I would love a companion to walk with me, though!!! And I know I would become absolutely smitten with a dog, if we had one. You should see how I coddle our tiny little hamster. hahahaha.
Well, on one count, Rex doesn’t shed! My husband is a bit allergic to dog hair and honestly, I hate getting animal hair on my clothes. So Rex is perfect for that. Now, on the other counts…well, that does make sense. Being really busy and away isn’t great for a dog and there is extra expense and hassle…but so much extra love and cuddling! And like I said, he doesn’t shed so yay!
Gosh this post makes my heart so happy. I had to smile about your husband’s comment getting your hackles up, but then you realizing that yes, you are enjoying companionship on your walks. I freaking HATE the dreadmill! So your combo of workouts sounds perfect. I refuse to run on the treadmill and don’t have easy access to one so I shift my workouts in the winter months and only run if it’s above 0F and not windy. Otherwise I rely on strength training and HIIT workouts. The treadmill sucks all of the joy out of running for me!
I love that Rex is your shadow! This is how our cat is for Phil. He calls her velcro kitty. She is like a dog – she waits for him outside the bathroom and always needs to be at his side. But she is only like that with him!
I didn’t use to mind the treadmill so much, but now it feels like “Why?” Why run 5km on the treadmill at the gym when I can just do 30 minutes on the elliptical or Peloton, in my house, which I like better anyway, and then save my hips for a long walk? VELCRO yes, it’s just like that!!
Awww…sweet, sweet Rex! Not only does he look adorable, he has such adorable traits, too! He obviously adores you — and I could see the feeling is mutual!
Ewww…lice! I’m glad all you had to do was give him a chewable treat and that they don’t jump species!!
Our (my son’s) dog is very independent but there are days when he wants to lie down on the kitchen mat in front of the stove and drives me crazy! I’d trip all over him and he’s like, “Oh, excuse you!” and won’t move so I have to tell him to move, and he’d reluctantly move all the while giving me dirty looks. Ha!
But I do know what you mean about enjoying walks more with a dog. I’ve often thought of how much longer and how often I go out for walks because of him! He’s 11yrs old but thinks and acts like a teen dog so we go-go-go! Enjoy your long walks with Rex; you two make the perfect walking pair!
“Oh excuse you” is exactly right! Rex has a knack for lying in front of the exact cupboard that I need to open, and it’s very funny.
It’s just so unutterably perfect that after thinking there might not be another dog, the universe was all ha ha bitches, check out this dog who might as well have been MADE FOR YOU. Lucy HATES when I leave her, and it’s really hard. Everybody’s always so surprised at how fast she bolts into her carrier when I get it out, and it’s one hundred percent because it means she’s not getting left behind.
That is so cute. Lucy! What a sweetie she is. The first day I left to take Jake to school, Rex waited beside the garage door and no one could get him to come in until I came home.
Nicole, I would have fainted as well. My head began to itch after learning that Rex had dog lice.
I like how Rex has already become a part of your family routine. ❤️
Me too, Kari, me too. xo
I HAD NO IDEA DOGS GOT LICE.
I too might have fainted ….I’m itching just reading this.
I love that he loves you so much; it’s really the sweetest thing to be loved by a dog.
He’s just the perfect addition to your home; Barkley must be proud.
Oh thank you Suz. I feel like he’s the perfect addition too (lice and all…)
Happy one-month-a-versary to Rex! I love the anecdote about you waking up and saying, “We have Rex!” That’s adorable. 🙂 I love that he’s so attached to you, too!
I had NO IDEA that dogs could get lice. I went to many a church sleepover in my youth so I am well-versed in lice and its annoyingness. Sooo many evenings spent sitting at a chair reading while my mom picked lice out of my hair. UGH. My poor mom! At least it’s a much simpler process for dogs!
Yikes! Most of my friends have had to deal with it with their kids, and I never have…maybe it’s their short hair!
OF COURSE Rex adores you! You are his person! No wonder he does not want to move far from you. I could not love this more. Seriously. That face! Oh, that face. I’m glad you have – and love to pieces – another dog. 🙂
(But ewwww on the lice… and thank goodness for the miracle pill!)
Thanks Anne! I am so lucky!