Made in Richmond

Yup. Looks about right.

In an effort to curb power struggles, we make it a point to emphasize the fact that Shooter is the alpha dog in our house. He’s fed first, let out first, and while Zapp is relegated to sleeping on the floor, Shooter is often invited up on the couch to snuggle with us. But she does ok:

Here she is in her latest napping spot: the 3 inches between the ottoman and the couch. It works especially well for her since she loves wrapping herself up in blankets.

(This is a rewrite of a previously posted version that apparently couldn’t handle something as technologically advanced as a video.)

Zapp never stops moving. Ever. I often wonder what it would be like if she had to just depend on us to get our energy out. Actually I do know: we would have thrown her in front of a truck. Kidding! Kind of.

Here’s a video of them playing. Please note how they transition from biting each other’s ankles and thrashing around like lions. (Oh, and sorry about the insanely loud television in the background – Ross was there, and you know how boys are.)

Last week was nuts and yesterday was completely busy in the best possible way. So, it took me until Sunday to let the Internets know that I’ve got nothing for Zappturday but this cute picture that I already posted a long time ago, but hopefully you don’t remember it:

What can I say? She comes by it honestly.

Of our two pups, Zapp is definitely of the lower maintenance variety. Shooter has seizures, is obsessed with static electricity, and runs away from remote controls because he knows THEY SOMETIMES FALL ON THE FLOOR AND MAKE NOISE OH NOES. On top of that, the first two months we were in this house, Shooter lost about 10 pounds (and we lost about $600 due to vet bills) because of a combination of being mildly allergic to flea preventatives, and the stress all of the moving brought to his life. Yes, I’m sure the prolonged closing process had him up nights.

Meanwhile, Zapp has never been taken to the vet for a sickness. She had an ear infection once that was discovered during a routine check up. Any other illnesses have been few and far between.

Few and far between, but always disgusting and life-stopping for approximately 6 hours.

Twice in her short, short life, Zapp has woken up with a catastrophic stomach issue. I will not go into what causes this because it is gross. But, the repercussions involve lots of throwing up and other things, sometimes all outside, and most recently, all of those things inside. Which was just great.

So, I spent the majority of New Year’s Day 2008 ushering her in and out of the house, soiling every extra towel in our house beyond laundering in my attempts to clean up various aftermaths, and trying to comfort my whimpering pup without getting anywhere near her.

Luckily, she was fine and just a little wobbly. Today she bounded out of her crate at full speed and ran into the closed door.

She’s back in action!

And now for your picture:

This is an example of how I did *not* comfort her on Tuesday. And this is an old picture because the camera is out of battery and the trip downstairs to recharge is SO FAR.

Ross and I spent a considerable amount of time last night lying around reading, rather than lying around watching television. For much of this considerable amount of time, Zapp paced bath and forth from the dining room to the living room, whimpering pitifully.

Confused, we repeatedly let her out, thinking she still had some business to attend to. But, each time she came back in and we settled back into our reading, the whimpering would start again.

“Maybe she’s confused because the television isn’t on,” I suggested.

Ross shrugged, grabbed the remote, and switch the television on. Zapp then curled up in a ball and went to sleep, as if finally able to relax.

I’m not sure how to feel about that.

And now, for the cute photo:

When we first adopted Zapp, they told us that she was a golden retriever/shepherd mix. They were totally and unequivocally wrong.

Based on her need to sniff EVERYTHING and her tendency to bay rather than bark, we’ve determined that Zapp is some kind of hound. We like to think she’s this, minus the defining ridge, although I don’t see her chasing lions anytime soon. More like covering herself up with a blanket and lumbering over to the lions to say, “DO YOU SEE THIS BLANKET ON MY HEAD IT IS SO MUCH FUN LET’S GO TAKE A SNUGGLE NAP!”

And now for an unrelated but velvety-cute picture:

(A rare moment of stillness that does not involve a nap.)

Here you see Zapp with her favorite wintertime friend.

As seen here, Zapp has no fat on her, so that makes November through February a little rough for her in our turn-of-the-century (read: full-of-holes-and-gaps) house.

When we broke out the space heater a couple weeks ago, Zapp stood with her chest and face turned towards the warmth for about twenty minutes, refusing to move. Now she stays wrapped around that thing as much as possible, to the point where you don’t want to touch her fur for fear that your fingers will be scorched.

As Ross and I don’t have any kids, when spend an inordinate amount of time talking about our dogs (see: I have a categories called “puppers” AND “zappturday” on this here blog).

Much of what we talk about is how amazingly beautiful we think Zapp is. We think Shooter is too, but he is more “dignified” than “soul-crushingly cute.”

For example, if Shooter and Zapp were on America’s Next Top Model, Shooter would be the one who the judges call “handsome” and “edgy” and then they’d cut off all his hair and end up sending him home home because he can’t handle being exposed like that, and it’s making him wonder if he ever wanted to be a model in the first place. Zapp, on the other hand, would be called “commercial” and they would marvel at her beautiful skin and keep her hair long because it just makes her so versatile. And then she would win because she’s so universally charming and really rocked that CoverGirl Commercial.

(See? The first sentence of this blog is incredibly true.)

Take a look at this picture:

Doesn’t she look like she’s made of velvet? And don’t you want to smother her velvet-face with kisses and exclamations of “Who’s the prettiest girl in the world? Whoooooooo’s the prettiest girl in the world?”

No?

Hmmm…

This is pretty much how it always goes. Zapp stays completely still, trying to make the cuddle last as long as possible, while Shooter comes in and tries to boss everyone around. And Ross looks drunk.