The Rogue Speaks:
All the way home from Green Valley on Monday, we discussed what we should name our "transition" dog, while he sat in my lap and Precious, our 13 year old Yorkie, sat in Rod's lap to help him steer the car.
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I wanted to name him Payne Stewart, but Rod didn't like that. He suggested Ben Hogan, but I opted for Charles Palmer. " Who's that??" he questioned. Well, it was just a name I liked. He didn't. Then I suggested naming him Par Three, because he was our third dog. He frowned!
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All this time our new little boy was calmly sitting in my lap, all fourteen pounds of him. I think he knew that he had been rescued and was now going to a new home where he would get two squares a day, a yard to pee in, lots of toys, and a place on our bed in which to sleep every night.
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Eleven and a half years ago, Precious was our transition dog. Our Maltese, Watson, was getting up there, and if something happened to him, we would be so sad and lonely. Watson lived to be sixteen, and when he was gone, Precious was there to distract us and keep us from being too lonely.
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It wasn't until today that we finally decided to name our new boy Mulligan. For those of you who don't play golf, a mulligan is a second chance if you don't like your first shot. Golf purists don't approve of mulligans, but I think everyone should have a second chance once in a while!
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Precious seems very comfortable with the situation. She hasn't bared her teeth, or growled under her breath. She thought she had struck gold when it came to mealtime. His food tasted much better than her senior diet, and when we weren't watching, she cleaned his bowl! She's paying for it now! She is literally waddling around with a belly as tight as a drum. Rod is doing triple duty on the poop patrol, too. Oddly enough, Mulligan likes her food better than his own, so when he saw his was gone, he simply ate hers! Everybody was happy, at least for a while.
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Mulligan is getting a second chance at having a good family who will take care of him properly, take him for walks, and love him. I think his name is quite appropriate!
20 comments:
Mulligan is the perfect name for this rescued dog. How clever of you! Everyone deserves a second chance and this little fellow will be so happy you gave him one. What a heart-warming story.
Awwww. I had a name but my headache is coming back, the baby is crying, her daddy is singing and my fingers forgot how to type so i'm gonna go before someone gets hurt. LOL, Btw, he's totally cute! I want one!
We sold plenty of mulligans in our charity golf event, and they didn't give me the tickets when they used them...cheaters. :) I understand why other dog's food taste better. It's the same way with kids. I remember I couldn't have enough when visiting my classmate's house for dinner. Mulligan is lovely and seems very lovable. Have fun with them both.
Cherlock: Ah,yes! We are SOOOO clever! Don't I wish!
Elisa, get over it! You have a baby! Let that be enough for now! When your cute little girl goes off to kindergarten, then you get a dog. Until then, sleep every chance you get!
Sarah, actually I don't like mulligans because I always forget to use them, and then I lose because I forgot!
Our granddaughter Gracie would always eat the stuff at her friends' house that she would turn up her nose at ours! Peer pressure! It never ends!
You sound like my guy. I asked for a puppy. He said "you already have a baby." Apparently I cannot have EVERYTHING. But really, those are the only two things I asked for. :/
Elisa, your guy, incidentally, is a HUNK! He is right about the puppy. If you think you don't get enough sleep now, just try housebreaking a puppy! And there is nothing more gratifying than seeing your little toddler playing in the dog's water, or eating his food. It's such a pleasure to mop the kitchen floor several times a day. Add to all that delight, a trip to the vet when the puppy chews a baby toy to bits and swallows the pieces, then throws up all over the house. Believe me, because I've been there! Wait until Abby is in kindergarten.
Hi Judie
What a wonderful story about how you came to the name choice of Mulligan. It suits him perfectly - he looks like a real 'scruff' and I mean that in a kind way. he reminds me of the dog they used to have on Hart to Hart - can't remember his name now.
I adore my 2 dogs Max and Paddy. We fly out to Texas on Monday so they have to go in boarding kennels and I am dreading it - said to hubby that this is the last time I am going away without them! They do have passports so we can travel in Europe with them - but when we come across the pond it has to be kennels. They have a beano - but I go on a guilt trip!
Smiles and blessings
Juliana, he is just a delight! The most important thing is that Precious has accepted him completely (probably because she thinks he has better food to steal.). Once her stomach goes back down to its normal size, we will see just how much she likes him then!
What a cute boy he is! Mulligan is a perfect name.
Life is not life without dogs.
My puppies are becoming better girls, but I woke up this morning and found bits of black leather strewn about the room. Luckily, it wasn't my shoe, but it was my daughter's favorite pair of shoes. I told her, she has to be vigilant about putting her shoes out of dog reach.
Even with all of our shoe casualties and the pee on the rugs, I still wouldn't trade them for the world. Congratulations on your Mulligan.
speaking of pee on the rugs, Rod, who is thoroughly exhausted from taking care of our granddogs while our daughter is away, has spent the afternoon in his chair, reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I was outside, and I heard Mulligan barking at the door. Since I was in the pool, I thought Rod would handle it. NOT! I came in to get some ice, and there was pee on the floor. "When he barks at the door, it is because he has to pee or poop!!! Did you mop this?" It was obviously still wet. He looks at me like a deer in the headlights. "Oh," he says. "I didn't know." Yeah, right!!! So I clean it up and go back to the pool. Later, I hear barking at the door. I wait. No door opens to let him out. I get out of the pool, wrap myself in a towel, and go inside. There is poop in the living room.
"Rod!" "Did you hear him barking???" "Uh, well I thought he had already gone." Oh, for Pete's sake!! Get off your sorry ass and let the dog out." "Oh," he says. "O.K."
We have tile everywhere except the guest room. It is easy to clean those squares. The grout is another issue.
How was camping??
I'm like Rod. I can't hear anything when I read, because I'm in another world. But how smart is Mulligan! He's already house broken. I also read the same book. A little too brutal at one point, but I'm glad she took revange when she did.
Sara, I have read the second one also. It is brutal, but the writing is very good. If you haven't read Island Beneath the Sea, please do. Isabel Allende is such a wonderful writer. My favorite book of hers is House of the Spirits.
Rod is sanitizing the tile tomorrow!!!
What a sweetie! I love the name, especially since he is a rescue. :-) I hope he is a great transition for you. I can't imagine losing my baby (big furry monster), but I know she won't live forever. She will be 8 this year. Having pets is hard on the heart!
They are worth it, though. One of the advantages to having small dogs is that they live longer. He's a good boy, and he and Precious get along very well--mainly because she wants his food!
How fortunate of Mulligan not only to have such an original name but also such a loving family to come home to. And isn't it funny how dogs are just like people, always wanting want the other has. And yes, we all deserve second chances, and thirds and fourths and fifths if it comes to that.
Yes, we do! Hopefully we won't keep making the same mistakes over and over. If you learn from your mistakes and try to be better, then you deserve a second chance. It all starts with saying, "I'm sorry" and meaning it.
The folks at the shelter told us that the original owners were pretty rough-looking people, and that Mulligan was skin and bones when they brought him in. It was noted on his intake form that he continually ran away. I think he was looking for us, and we finally showed up!
I love the name! Funny, but so appropriate.
The way she eats, it's like you have a teen in the house again.
Bite your tongue, Sae! When Precious was a puppy I had to feed her by hand so Watson wouldn't eat all her food. Now I have to feed Mulligan by hand so Precious won't eat his.
Thank God Precious isn't like a teenage girl with all that hormonal rage they carry around!
I love the name!!!! Also I never really thought about a transitional dog until Emma died and we had Jack. Now we will wait a couple more years before getting another dog. It really makes sense!!
Laura, it really eases the pain. We were planning a trip to Alaska (don't get me started!) and didn't want our neighbor to have to be responsible if anything happened while we were gone.
When we got home from the vet, we sat down with Precious and said,"Honey, we have some bad news. Your brother Watson has gone to doggie heaven."
She sat there looking at us for a few seconds and said, "Who????"
That's her life as a spoiled-rotten Yorkie who always gets her way.
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