As you all know, we bought a puppy. It was a mutual decision, Bruce longed for someone to fully adore him again (I wasn’t doing my part). One of our previous dogs, Tucker was Bruce’s BFF. He tragically died from a xylitol overdose at 6 years. Maggy loved Bruce, but her primary role in life was to protect me from falling leaves and squirrels.
Not quite the same.
So the hunt for a puppy that suited our lifestyle began. We debated different breeds. Talked about adopting vs buying a purebred. Decided that raising it from scratch was a better fit, and a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel might be ideal.
Along came Benji…
I found him by googling ‘cheap Cavalier puppies’. I’d been on websites with expensive ones, but they crossed my financial threshold of pain, (that’s a Brucism we’ve used for decades). We bought a ‘cheap’ Shi-tzu for our first puppy, and he ended up costing us more than a registered one. We were hoping that something in between Shi-tzu cheap, and AKC expensive would suit. I took a chance and put a deposit on this little guy from Springhill OH, just east of Akron.
Akron OH is the gateway to Amish country, according to one of my daughters. She lives in OH so she knows. It’s on the West Virginia border and Springhill is a hub of Amish dog breeders. In March, when I paid the deposit, we were still in AL and anticipated being in Detroit by May, when it would be time to pick him up. The distance from Detroit wasn’t too bad.
But we didn’t make it to Detroit by May.
We ended up spending most of May in Clarksville TN, then headed to Terre Haute IN for a couple of months, to catch up on truck and health stuff. When we landed in Terre Haute, a day before Memorial Day weekend began, Bruce was so eager for his puppy, that he hit the road the next day. This was his birthday present and he wanted him – NOW!
Terre Haute IN to Springhill OH was a lot further than Detroit…
They bonded on the long drive back to IN, and by the time he got home with him, Benji was solidly his. I guess when you’re the last of your littler to leave the farm, you’re just glad to be going somewhere.
Even though he was 11 weeks old, he was so tiny! We were used to small dogs, but he was really small. And cute!! Terminally so…and a good thing too, cuz puppy life in an RV is a little challenging.
Potty training, learning to eat from a bowl, using his voice for his needs, playing, baths, crate life and so on, were once again part of our lives. We’ve had dogs since 1997, we weren’t inexperienced. But it had been a long time since we’d had a puppy.
We thought we were ready.
This little guy is more of a puppy than any of our previous ones! At first he wouldn’t eat food from a bowl. We suspected that it had been tossed on the floor of his pen at the Amish farm, and he’d had to eat it among his siblings. He’d take a few bites and run to his bed with them, then go back for more.
Potty training was definitely needed…
He couldn’t manage stairs so he had to be carried in and out of the RV, and up and down to our bedroom. His back end didn’t always move with his front end. Still doesn’t sometimes, and today they’re much further apart.
And barking!
We asked, and asked if Cavaliers were barkers and everyone said unequivocally, NO.
NOT!
He barks at us for everything!! Food, going out (thank the Lord), attention, play, and just to let us know he’s alive. Luckily he’s not a huge barker at strangers, other animals or falling leaves.
He made us laugh a lot, and we so needed it! We’d had such a long, messy year. When he hauled a rug across the floor, or picked up my shoe (which was bigger than him) and took it to his bed, we cracked up. I tried to get him to lay in his bed while I sewed by moving it to the sewing room. Dang if he didn’t haul that whole bed right back to the living room all on his own!
We laughed about it all day.
Bruce has done a lot of the training. He’s also reaped the reward of being adored by him, as if he set the sun and moon in the sky.
While we were in Terre Haute, everyone at the park loved him! Especially the camp manager, Wendy. She had recently lost her father and hugging Benji daily, became part of her comfort.
And then there was Milo…
Introducing him to Milo went as expected. He wasn’t happy and Benji wanted to play rough. For awhile we had to keep them apart. Now we manage to pull Benji off when he gets too aggressive, and Milo has become more dominant. He stopped sleeping on our bed, and he watches over the crate all night long. We think he’s guarding his food. We’re hoping they eventually buddy up. Milo adored Tucker and shows signs of feeling that way about Benji. But Benji is just a little too much puppy right now.
Benji had his first vet appointment, and she gave him all A’s. All of the usual issues with Cavaliers are missing, and he looks and behaves exactly as he should. He is scheduled for that nasty surgery that will render him unbreedable, we can hardly wait! We’re hoping it calms him.
So is Milo…
Here in Detroit we’re parked right behind Hope House and children are around all the time. Benji is well loved and played with. Once the ugly heat lifts, we anticipate he’ll see them more often. Cries of “Benji, Benji, Benji, Benji”, abound when the 6 yr old is out. He can’t always decide which direction to go!
Road life is full of dog owners, (cats are rarer). We’ve seen every size, shape, breed and age, traveling with people. Benji should be one of the gang in our road life. All in all we’re satisfied dog owners again.
It’s just a good thing he’s terminally cute.
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