We bought a little scrumplet of a dog. She was black, tiny, and oh so cute. We bought her for our son. But really - she was MINE.
What to name a dog? Is it easy for others? Am I the only dog owner who struggles with this? Or do we all lose sleep that first night as we think of name after name after name - convinced that the perfect name will make for the perfect dog?
Well, I lost sleep that first night. How could I not? The little bitch was howling and clawing and crying for longer than I thought caninely possible. But I was also troubled with coming up with the just-right name for that little banshee in the box in the kitchen. (Surely the perfect name would make her sleepy!)
The next day, I convinced my hubby and our son that NIX was the best name EVER. It made perfect sense patterning her name after NYX, the goddess of the night. Little Nix was had the shiniest black coat I'd ever seen on a dog. She glistened and disappeared in the shadows. She would rule the night in our little neighborhood.
Well, she ended up just ruling the roost. And she did rule, in her little dachshund-beagle-terrier-springer spaniel mixed up way.
Nix was a great friend for our son. She loved him. She chased him. He chased her. It was a great relationship.
Nix was a great pet for my husband. She loved him. She made him chase her. She helped my husband teach the boyo a few choice words. (Imagine hearing your precious, innocent babe yell out, "Nix, damn it! Come back here!") Despite all that, my hubby loved her. It was a great relationship.
"Nix, damn it!" ~ 2 year old cusser.
But Nix REALLY loved me. She was MINE. And I loved that.
I say this knowing that the other two agree.
Nix super loved me. She did. It was evident.
It was clear she loved me when a strange man came to the door. Nix didn't trust him. She ran out and bit him on the toe of his shoe. It was clear she loved me when she made a mad dash for the postman (trying to protect me from all the bills, I assume) and got stopped dead in her tracks by a shot of mace. And it was clear she loved me each time she sat on my lap.
Nix didn't sit on my lap the way normal dogs did. How could she? She super loved me, after all. No - Nix would hop up on my lap, turn her head to look at me, and she would wait. She waited for however long it took for me to look down at her. When I did - she would literally fall into me. She'd just let herself go and fall into my chest. She'd thud against me. I'll never forget that feeling.
I loved that. I felt the love in her as she snuggled in close. I saw the love in her eyes as she breathed me in deep. And I was HERS.
And all along, I thought she was mine.
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