Its a Dog Thang ........

Roxie and Bubba Lou

As my fur baby Jack approaches his first birthday, it makes me think back and reminisce about Bubba Lou and Roxie, my first fur babies that I had before the hubster and I had started dating. I do have them to thank for bringing us together thou!

Along, long, long time ago when I had moved out of Mama Pepper’s house into my own, my dad got me a puppy!! Isn’t that what every new home owner needs?? A puppy to pee on the freshly laid carpet, chew on the freshly painted walls, why yes of course!! Roxie was a 3 month old Rottweiler, looking ever so fashionable in her diamond stud hot pink collar (pink ...shocking I know)!! About a month after I had Roxie another pup showed up at the house, a skinny, starving pup that would come and play with Roxie, cuddle with me and follow us around the neighborhood, never leaving my side. He would knock on the door with his paw, like a little kid to announce he was here and ready to play, and he never left! So then there were two, and we (me and Roxie) name him “Bubba Lou”. It was obvious that he had not only been starved, but beaten, because a slight raise in your voice he would flip over and shake and pee all over!!! Yes just what every new homeowner needs is not one but two puppies, and one that pees when he gets scared!!

I learned quickly that having puppies …….was a big and expensive job! And that having 2 puppies meant I had an even a bigger and more expensive mess!! I was a college student, working at the local sports bar on the weekends and a mom of 2 growing pups…… who created mischief and mayhem on a daily basis!! Coming home to the house newly decorated in pillow stuffing, toilet paper, shoes and anything else they could manage to find!!

I came home to red lipstick that had been chewed up on my light gray carpet!! OH MY GOD I screamed as I walked in the door ….and well there went Bubba Lou…… so now I had not only red stained carpet but it was now soaked in pee……. calling the carpet cleaners, and spending my tip money for that night I now had nice clean carpets again. Well until the next night when I came home from work to discover that they had eaten the ink cartridge outta my printer all over the nice clean carpets …………OH MY GOD ………here we go again!! After the carpet guys left yet again I decided I needed to do something …….so I found a doggie sitter while I worked!!

I had a really sweet neighbor that lived outback, she had a little girl and lived with a man that I grew up with his kids, and he helped her out. She loved the dogs and was wonderful with them, would take them out on walks, bring them treats, and then...a few moths into this arrangement  I started noticing she was borrowing my clothes …like I’d come home and notice her outside and think hummm that looks like my shirt, dress, purse etc. !! The straw that broke the camel’s back was coming home to her sitting at my makeup table, doing her makeup, curling her hair and wearing my clothes …….I stood at my bedroom door in pure shock as she spun around and said “oh I hope you don’t mind, I had nothing to wear and Howard is picking me up to go shopping” My mouth hit the floor as I said “Howard …as in Howard ..my dad??” WTF?? Yea…”Howard” and I had to have a chat …there is a golden rule all fathers should know……… you don’t date someone YOUNGER than your own kids!!!! After that awkward encounter , I took my key back from the psycho dog sitter, along with my clothes and I needed a new plan!!

One night the dynamic duo jumped out of my picture window!! They didn’t mean to do it , they were obviously excited about whatever was lurking outside and jumped up against the window, how would they realize that they were now both over 100 pounds and the window would come crashing down??

Oh yes, the joys of having 2 pups!! Stocking the (pre) hubster, whose brother happen to also work with me at the Sports Bar, I called in a panic that he needed to come fix my window – the dogs jumped out of it!!! He did construction there (and other places) at the time, and so lucky for me here was there!! He came over with that sexy tool belt, some plywood and patch it up!! Then the next day returned to put in the window!! I think he is convinced that I pushed the window out …….just so he’d show up to be my night and shining amour!! He then came back and put up a fence for me, to help contain my wild beasts!! I remember sitting there on the back steps with (pre) hubster, trying to pay him for putting the fence up and he wouldn’t take it ….I replied with “You better take it now, because when I marry you, I won’t pay you to do things around the house!”, then I asked him to be my date to a wedding and the rest is history- we’ve been together ever since! Poor guy , if he only knew his fate ......back in 1997, he may have taken that sexy tool belt and ran the other way!

He continued to be my night and shining amour coming to the aid of my distress signals, bringing pliers in the middle of the night to retrieve what was left of the rat’s head from the vent, as it tried to escape the hunt of the pups and …..well lost!!! EWWWW.........now that was gross!! You know your man is a keeper when he gets outta bed, drives all the way over to crazy dog -lady's house with that sexy tool belt and removes the rat head and body from a vent!

Pre- hubster should have known he was doomed, when I introduced myself to his parents at the bar before we even started dating as “Hi, I’m Pepper – I’ll be your server tonight and your daughter in law someday when I marry your son”! His mother replied with a big grin and just said “I hope you do”.

See…….what I mean Bubba Lou and Roxie helped bring us together!! We had many, many adventures with the kids, and even more when PC was born as they lived to the ripe old age of 15! Which is amazing when you think about it for big dogs! Once the hubster and I moved in together they became “outside dogs” since they were huge lap dogs (120+ and 140+ lbs) ….. and we lived in a tiny house! I cried the first few nights, and thought it was so mean of him to make them be outside, but then I realized that they loved it, and hey the house was a hell of a lot cleaner!!

Bubba Lou, even after being by my side for 15 years never got over the whole flipping and peeing thing when he was scared, but he did get over being starved as he rounded out at a plump 140 + pounds!! PC was 6 when Roxie passed in her sleep and Bubba Lou followed about 4 months later with a broken heart, which is what I was then left with.

Bubba Lou Me and Roxie 2000  

I never imaged finding myself with another “set” of dogs that I could adore (even with all the mayhem they would cause)  as much as I did Bubba Lou and Roxie, but I have to say that after being dog-less for 7 years, I have once again found that unconditional love and joy you get from a dog, that wag of a tail, just because you came around the corner, and that happy to see you grin with my Jack and Jill! Who knows maybe it's  Bubba and Roxie back home  again in smaller bodies this time...so they can be inside and be once again spoiled dogs!!



Jack , Me and Jill 2014

Really the only people that will understand this……. are that of a true dog lover! All others may just think I am that crazy dog lady ….which ….yea there’s that to!!  Now if you'll excuse me............ I have a wet Jack to go dry off!!

Happy 1st Birthday my fur baby Jack! May you have many butts to sniff and bones to chew!