Biggie—Year Two

Biggie is now five years old, and he has been in my life for two years.  As I explained before in “Biggie”, he is my neighbor’s dog, but my wife and I take care of him on a part time basis.  We walk him every day while his ‘Mom’ is at work, and he ends up staying with us until she gets home in the evening.

 

There are days when he just lays around the house, but they are quite rare.  Laying around is not high on Biggie’s priorities.  He is not a hyper dog, but he is a curious dog.  He also wants to be held for hours on end.  And all socks in the house belong to him, whether or not they are on one’s feet.

 

A few months ago he gave us a scare.  My wife gives him a bath about once a week, and she noticed a large lump had developed under his chin in just a few short days since his last bath.  His “Mom” couldn’t afford to take him to the vet so I footed the bill.  The big bill.  Ouch!  I said before I would not pay his vet bills, but that resolve quickly disappeared when his life was on the line.  Biggie was slowly choking due to pressure on his windpipe, and I was NOT going to lose another dog, even if he wasn’t my dog.  A biopsy, many shots, and an oral medicine brought the problem under control, but for about two weeks, there was more than a small amount of doubt that it would work.  But it did.

 

Lately I’ve been the one walking him almost every weekday, and he knows exactly where he wants to go.  A few weeks ago I made the mistake of walking him by the taco stand across the street at the exact moment a lady dropped her taco.  Biggie was all over it like a, um, uh, dog on a taco.  And his memory is very long.  Now his walks have become a battle of wills, but so far I’ve been winning.

 

Each day Biggie has hopes of another taco, and he knows the shortest route to the taco stand.  The stress on his harness and leash is enormous as he pulls one direction, and I’m pulling another.  My biggest fear is that should I give in, walk him by the taco stand, and someone will drop another taco.  If that happens there will be no winning in the future.

 

I must admit though, I’m planning on a special trip there in a few days.  The stand has an outdoor patio where dogs are welcomed, and I’m willing to drop a few bites of taco, maybe a chunk or two of burrito, or some quesadilla.  Honestly, Biggie has me wrapped around his paw.  Oh, well.