It seemed like a good idea at the time , the saga of Etta,Otis and Mc5er travel

Being animal lovers for Karen and I is a joy and a curse all at the same time, we especially love dogs……who start out in a non conventional form called “puppies “. In an effort to assure the continuation of the species the powers of the cosmos made puppies, EXTREMELY cute……… the cuteness is meant to cloak or distract from puppies true purpose………..the task of separating you from your will to live. As harsh as that may sound….its the truth of the matter. Puppies unlike baby hamsters or kittens or ponies……….have the unique mental ability at a very early age to discern the difference between a dog toy and ……say ……a $125 pair of shoes….or worst yet a pair of shoes that fits perfectly and your only pair of shoes that doesn’t make your feet hurt. Along with this almost clairvoyant trait is the physical quickness and agility to shred and partially consume almost anything that fits in their mouth at a speed that rivals a politician saying something stupid.

Combining the task of surviving Mc5er * travel and raising puppies in tandem is. ….in retrospect………a sign of some mental deficiency. Unfortunately like most poorly thought out decisions Ive been party to over the years , the folly is not truly recognized until “that ship has sailed”.

Karen and I lost our beloved Gus just before striking out on our 5 month MC5er adventure last fall and we were devastated that he would not be there to share it with us

So….in a moment of weakness we decided we were ready for a new “child” ,after multiple visits to a local breeder we narrowed it down to 3 different males! Karen and I were 4th in line to pick so we felt we had a great shot at one of the three . We had vowed to get a brown or off cream colored pup in an effort to not pick out “Gus Jr.”. This was working perfectly until our second visit and a pudgy little stark white pup kept following me………he had a shock of white hair…sticking straight up like the PM of Great Britain!! He kept tripping over his big feet! He kept staring at me….his tongue lolling out of his face like the worlds cutest ham slice……sparking eyes……and he kept FOLLOWING ME! I did my best to ignore him……after all….Karen and I agreed!!…a darker…non Gus colored dog…..we had discussed and agreed to it!!!!, apparently nobody clued in Boris Johnson Jr……AKA pudgy

Once in the truck after our third visit to the breeders……I was ambushed by Karen…..

“I saw it” ……like any husband…my mind SCREAMED! …what? What Did she see? Was my fly down? Was I wearing plaid shorts with todays horizontal striped shirt again? No……..I had my vertical striped shorts on today!……..why must they be so vague…….I’m a man for Christ sake!…….we are not that sharp……we are the epitome of the “shallow end of the pool”!!!!!!!!! Like any husband I resigned myself to looking/sounding like an idiot as I replied in a forlorn, defeated voice ” what? What have I done now?” “I saw you looking at him” I recognized defeat……..its a common companion…..and didn’t bother with the standard line/lie “who?what?where?……..Karen replied ” the little fat,white colored Boris Johnson looking pup” In an pleading eight years old voice I blurted. “He was following ME!!!!!!” Karen whipped out the standard “I thought we agreed ?“retort …..accompanied by the required semi frown and ever so slight head shake. In and an almost inaudible voice I muttered “he started it”

Karen was right….I needed to distance myself from Boris.

On our next visit we found that ALL three of our boy choices had been picked!!!!!!! Oh the humanity!!!!!” As fate would have it a female had taken a shine to us …..a tiny little red/reddish coffee looking girl…..oh my….was/is she cute…..such a cute lovely little face!!!! I thought that settles that,Im off the hook with Boris…..Then I heard Karen ask the breeder….in a whisper of a voice ” what kind of discount would we get for two?”

Jesus H Christ!!!! TWO! TO! TOO!!!! Has she lost her mind ????……Two would be kinda cool???? After very little dickering….and a small 401 k withdrawal …we stumbled to the truck with Boris AKA Otis and Etta (James)….Half way to the house my feeble brain screamed “how the hell are we gonna raise two pups in a 32′ fifth wheel?????” Well…its only August 26th so we have roughly 60 days to get everyone all knowed up! Holy crap! What have we done?

To be continued

* The Mc5er is our fifth wheel