Our little bundle of love, Scamp, turns eleven this week, and he still makes me smile every day. One minute, he’s acting like a grumpy old man and the next he’s playing like a puppy.
When he first arrived from Poodle Rescue, Scamp seemed like such a shy, little dog. Charlie and me found it kind of odd for a fifteen month old puppy to be so quiet, so well behaved: no accidents on the carpet, no chewing on the furniture. He just watched us from his bed, getting the lay of the land.
Even though we got him from Poodle Rescue, Scamp’s not pure poodle. He’s a bichon/poodle mix or “bichpoo”, which makes him smart, stubborn and cute as all get out. Sure, he understands what you want him to do. He just doesn’t always want to do it. Nothing’s changed in that department.
Poodle Rescue recommended I enroll him in a basic training class right away so I could establish my “alpha dog” status. What a joke!
In class, Trainer Pam hardly ever selected Scamp to demonstrate anything, because try as she might, she could not bend him to her will. With most of the dogs, Pam just needed to do a few corrections (a smart yank on the leash) and they would be startled into submission. Not Scamp. He’d just looked at her like, Not even a hot dog treat is worth this kind of treatment. I’m out of here! Then he’d high tail it back me. What a rascal! We made it through the six weeks, and got our certificate, but I can’t say we graduated head of the class.
I don’t know who was more relieved when basic training was over, me or Scamp. On our way home from that final class, Scamp nosed his way into my purse, got out the treat bag and helped himself to the rest. “I don’t blame you, little guy,” I says. “We both need a reward.” I dug into the stash of Hershey’s kisses I’d nabbed from the dish Pam had set out for beleaguered pet owners.
Truth be told, Scamp is probably at his best at home. Out on a walk, he tends to sniff and then lunge at other dogs in a “I’ll get you before you get me” sort of way. “Scamp!” I says. “That dog is big enough to have you for breakfast!”
Kids are fascinated with him, of course, but if they want to pet him, I just say, “I’m sorry, dear. He’s not as nice as he looks.”
And he’s a total pill in the car. He bangs on his crate and whines the entire time, especially when you put the blinker on. You don’t realize how often you use your turn signal until you’ve had the pleasure taking a ride with Scamp.
But these are small potatoes when it comes to the bigger picture. I just love coming in the door, and there’s Scamp almost turning himself inside out, he’s so happy to see me. And you know what? He greets me that same over-the-top way whether I’ve been at the A&P all day or out back, hanging laundry on the line.
Warms my heart to hear Charlie talk to Scamp while he gives him a bath, or how Scamp can make Charlie chuckle after a hard day at the mill. And I love it when Charlie and me are sitting side by side in our BarkaLounger love seat, and Scamp’s in between us, his head first on my lap, then Charlie’s.
As much as we wanted children, they just weren’t in the cards for Charlie and me. So Scamp has a special place in our hearts. Last week at the A&P, I overheard a teenager talking to a friend on her cell phone about some boy they both have a crush on, and she said, “He just makes me melt from the inside out.” Well, Scamp does that to me, every day.
Happy birthday, little buddy!
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flip side!
Hear Ida Tell It: Happy Birthday, Scamp
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March 29 & 30: Ida: Woman Who Runs With the Moose, The Footlights Theatre, 7:30, Falmouth, ME
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