The Story of Max

Yes this IS a real pic of my pookie bear Max, the first full day we had him. Isn't he gorgeous?!! I decided, since I talk about my lil guy so much, I should tell the story of how he came to be a part of our family.

It was late July, I had turned 25 earlier in the month. It was just a lazy summer day. Just me and Sam in the house, Katie off at a summer semester class, Mom at work. My Dad arrived home and asked Sam and I, if we would go on an errand with him. He said it was about an hour drive away but he said he would bring us to this really famous ice cream place we have never been to. So we were like sure. Dad was kind of evassive about what his errand was, Sam was sure it was for mulch, I thought maybe it was a church thing. SO we drove an hour, I had brought these cards from a game I had bought, that asks quiestions on Ads and Logo's, etc of well known brands and such, so we had fun driving.

We arrived at this very small, shabby looking house. For me, it confirmed this was some sort of service project my Dad was involved in. For Sam, it made her think, they must have mulch here. He had us all go IN the house, so I was sure it was some poor church family that Dad was helping or giving a blessing to or whatever. We got inside and it was hot as blazes. It was kinda smokey and extremely cramped. There were cats everywhere, it made me jump every time I felt paws climb over my flip-flop covered feet. There were a few cages with birds sqwauking, and you could hear barking from somewhere else in the house. The "side tables" were covered with towels, but it turned out when I got too close, yeah NOT side tables. There were dogs that were abused,etc and had to be crated because they were very angry and vicious, under those towels. The woman asked my Dad if he was ready to see "them" and he said yes. Sam and I were standing there, my head nearly touching the ceiling, feeling very out of place and uncertain. All of a sudden there were three jack russell dogs in the room.

Now this freaked me out a little, I have always been afraid of dogs. There were one or two exceptions during the years (Puppy the dog ate ritz crackers out of my hand, and Misty was so sweet and gentle), but most I met seemed so scary and teeth-y (yeah I know NOT a word). And while we had discussed a dog a few years earlier (most of us got allergy tests...those hurt!!) it was still a NO from the dad. So as these little dogs ping ponged over the room, hopping like kangaroos (seriously) almost to my eye level, it was very disconcerting. This was when my Dad turned to us and said "Pick one". We (me and Sam) were like "wwhhhhhaaaaaaa...?", and he said we were getting a dog, mostly for Mom but also for us girls. Sandy kept on saying "what are you talking about" over and over (and she has been the one pushing for a dog for eons, she was in such shock), and according to Dad I clasped my hands together and went into "shopping mode". The black and white one wasn't very cute and hopped so high, so I went on to the next. He was tan and white and really cute, and I thought THIS ONE. So my Dad was like pick him up, so I did, very carefully, being scared still, but they were puppies. And he would not sit still, he was jerking, flopping, struggling to get down so he basically jumped from my arms and made me feel like "this is really not my thing". Sam was finally starting to get Dad was really serious, so when he asked her wich one she liked, she pointed down towards the door and said "that one", but didn't move. I don't know what happened but I got brave. I went to where she'd pointed and underneath a cage was a white, tan and black puppy. I pried him from his hidey hole and stood up and that is when he just...settled into my arms. And my heart was lost. He just snuggled in and was content. He was quiet and had the sweetest lil face. Sam looked in love also, and scractched his head and petted him, but didn't even try and take him. My Dad was like "well, is he the one?" and we were both "YES". So he paid the woman the $400 and she gave us the name if the puppy food he was on, etc. We met the mom, but she was so old and tired looking, she looked like "oh you are taking one? 'Kay". Apparently the three sisters had been snatched almost immediately.

We walked out to the car and as we were getting in, as much as I wanted to keep holding him, I asked Sam if she wanted to hold him and she had him before I knew it. He was so quiet on the way home, a lil shaky, so Sam covered him with part of her skirt. Halfway home she gave him back to me (Dad was calling him Skippy 2, he and Mom had a JRT named Skippy) and turned into Sarge. Okay, we must stop at the pet store. Food, toys, collar, leash, shampoo, a book on JRT's, etc. And we listened to Sarge and did it. I picked out a RED collar, it spoke to me, and is his signature color to this day.
When we got home it was still an empty house, so we bathed "puppy" or "skippy 2", and noticed...hey he is kind of lighter...less yellow white. So we bathed him once more and he was really white! And he no longer smelled like cigarrettes!! Sam had about half of the "Dummies Guide to JRT's" read, which is a fat book. We set up a balled up mattress pad in the mud room with puppy pads on the floor and Sam even found the spund machine with the heartbeat so he would be all set for the night. When Katie arrived home next Dad went out to the garage and told her to be calm and not freak out, she thought we had done something majorly wrong. So when she saw me holding a lil puppy, she was like "whose dog is that?!" and we were like "ours" at the same time, and she was all awwwwww he's so cute. Why did you freak me out? But he was very jumpy at loud noises and Kat can be LOUD. We were getting really excited about Mom meeting Skippy 2. We tied a red bow to his new collar and I stood behind Kat and Sam when Mom got home. My Dad had called her and said there was something wrong with the mud room floor, I can't remember why, I knew part of it was so she would get off work asap. So when she walked in she went to the mud room first and was all confused. Then Kate and Sam stepped aside and Mom gasped, she said "who is this?"! And we were all Skippy the Second and I placed him in Mom's arms and she melted. She was "hello you." And then, to him, "no you're not a Skippy, no, you need your own name", and snuggled him. We all sat on the kitchen floor where we had placed a towel, and "puppy" (as he would be called for days until mom picked McIntosh aka Max) prowled around us, curious. Still no noise from him. Katie and I both started to feel panicky. I know all of a sudden I was like, I can't take care of a dog! I was just freaking out. My parents told both of us, the dog is everybody's, "not mine though" Dad said, but Max had his heart that night. He was fascinated with dad's 5 o'clock shadow and loved licking his chin. He also liked gnawing on our fingers, the poor teething baby, which didn't hurt, his teeth were just prickly baby teeth. The 'rents assured us we didn't have to have the dog with us all the time, we could be involved just as much as we wanted, and that helped but I still worried.

And that night was hard. The book said, put him in a room and do NOT get him, even if he cried. Except I was the only one hanging out on the main floor, so I heard him crying, the only noise to leave him all day, for hours until he must have fallen asleep. I can't believe I ever worried about having a dog. He kept worming his way more and more into my heart and my families, and into our home. We got baby fences, he was only allowed out of his house when one of us had him or were taking him outside. He peed on the pee pad on day ONE people!! Go puppy!! Then when he was there a week or so, we put up the gates so he had his room and the entire kitchen, He did NOT like being stuck on the other side of the fence when we were in the living room all together eating while we watched tv, but there was a process. Next he got to roam the downstairs, until he was old enough and potty trained enough to have the run of the house. Poor Max uses his head to knock on doors. My Mom taught him to grrrr on like week 1, she would do it, then he would mimic her. SO yeah, this dog dug himself a place in our hearts and he has been our baby since. Sam taught him to sit. I taught him to kiss on command (yeah me the dog-fearer, loves Maxie kisses...heck I let most dogs kiss me now, I am so not afraid most of the times of dogs anymore), with my help (I am the tall one with LONG legs) Sam taught him to lie down. I taught him to count to three, I mean it. When I throw a treat or ball into the air, he doesn't jump until I get to three! My good boy!!

Of course, he did learn he could bark...and has never stopped. He hates other dogs even in his view, man he never shuts up! We don't LOVE the bopping under the chin or flicking the nose (sensitive!!) so we have adopted the spray bottle of water when he gets real bad. He hates that. And he gets time outs, ehich he hates. We put him in his room (painted with a red chair rail and paw prints going up the wall), which has his house/crate, and put the baby fence up and depending on what he did, depends on his jail time. Usually it is 10 minutes and he is all ready to be let out. He has forgotten when he was really little, we got him at 3 months, he figured out he could jump the fences. That was when we had to use the taller one, but he has forgotten that OR gotten too lazy/spoiled and we use the shorter one still.

And he IS spoiled, we know it. We have all sort of JRT knick-knacks, we buyhim special treats, oh he gets fed human food. He loves cheese and...well most things except for fish. He loves cashews. Dad is nuts for him. He started taking tiny Max out almost every day for a burger in the morning, and Max got SO used to it, Dad takes him out every bloody day, so spoiled. Dad now heats up chicken because it is much healthier for Max, but on Sundays for sure Maz, gets the steak from a Steak bagel sandwich from McD's. LOL. But sticking to chicken and he is in his weight bracket, go Max! He is 4 now, and the love of my life. He spends the nights glued to my side while i watch tv and blog, etc. He has his "special" spots throught the house, HIS pillows...he climbs all over me like he is a mountain goat if he wants to lay ON me. He has gotten into a bad habit of mean grrrr'ing when we stop him from biting (he has bad allergies and gets Benadryl) and has this Cujo thing going on. For Mom and Dad he stops like THAT. Not for me, I have found a way, I call him BAD BOY, which he HATES and he gets all apologetic and kisses to death. Only 3 times have I actually flinched from him when he meant no harm. When he has Cujo face ON and is lunging at you, yes to give a kiss, but is does NOT feel to my senses, SAFE, I have flinched back, which freaks Maxie out and he gets such an upset look on his face, he is shocked and so saddened. But is he bites any of us or anyone I should say, he is on his way to DOG school! But he is a good boy mostly, he loves being cuddled, and likes to have even a paw touching someone when he sleeps around us.

So this is how Max was adopted into our family, and his adventures with us began!