"My" Dog

My youngest daughter has a 1-year-old dog.  Her name is Pumpkin.  She is a long-haired Chihuahua and she is gorgeous.  She also isn't a typical Chihuahua: no nervous peeing, yipping or yapping or nipping.  She is a tawny color with white, she is registered and her parents are both champions.  She's  smart, loving and very social.  And I love her to distraction: all 5 pounds of her.

Although she is Kitty's dog, Pumpkin sleeps with me.  This started shortly after we got her because one night one of the cats attacked her.  We are a family of less-than tiny people; and both girls said she couldn't sleep with them because they might roll over on her; plus they slept too soundly to get up to let her out.  So she slept with me that night, and she's been there ever since.  I guess I must sleep in one spot and don't mind being awakened.  Seriously??

Pumpkin loves her family and even Luna, the cat who attacked her, likes her.  When we come home from work she greets us at the door with a sqeaky toy and wags her tail so hard her entire back end wiggles and she hits herself in the face with her tail.  When she wakes up in the morning she's wagging her tail and comes up to the head of the bed to see if I'm awake and will give her a belly rub.  When we get on the floor she climbs all over us playing and happy that we're on her level. Right now she is on the bed staring at me, making little whimpering noises because it's time for "schnoozy" and I'm not in bed yet.  Yep: I love that little girl!

But I think I might love her too much.  Sometimes I think about how empty my life would be without her.  One night I even had a dream in which I was holding Pumpkin and we walked into this room.  Sitting in the room was my good friend Matt, and next to him was my father.  I was very happy to see them; and I placed Pumpkin in Matt's lap.

The thing about the dream is my father died in 2004; and at the time of the dream I thought Matt was dead.  So to me this dream symbolized Pumpkin dying...and I was traumatized when I woke up.

Of course Matt is alive; and I dream about my father rather frequently.  So I guess the dream really meant that I love Pumpkin, and I wanted 2 people that I also love to meet her.

This dog has invaded my house, my bed and my dreams.  Does that mean she's Kitty's dog?  All signs are pointing to no.  So it looks like I have a dog after all!