(Wo)Man's Best Friend

When we first started dating, Eric and I bonded over our love of dogs. I had had two dogs growing up that I adored. The second one, Poppy, a "mostly" miniature Schnauzer was so awesome that my parents refused to get another dog because it just hurts so much to lose them. 

I kept bugging Eric about getting a dog, and he finally agreed that after we got married we could get one. He had told me a name he's always wanted for a dog was Swisher (as in the cigar brand) and I told him that ever since I'd had a daycare lady who owned a Boxer, I'd wanted one. The "fawn" coloring looks like a cigar, so it was perfect. We were married April 1st, 2011, and I started scouring the internet looking for a new family member. 

I found a farm near Lawler, IA that May that had 8 week old puppies for sale. When we pulled up, there were about 12 puppies lined up along a chain link fence staring at us and wiggling their butts. Eric said to me, "I want them all." He's such a softy. 

There were 2 adult females that  had gone into heat at the same time, and one male, all living on the farm. I think one of the females had 9 puppies and the other had 3. Something close to that anyway. The owner let the puppies out into the yard so we could play with them and choose which one we wanted. It was an incredibly tough decision, but came down to these factors:

• We wanted a male
• We wanted fawn coloring (which I think most of them were)
• The one we picked did not chew on me as much as the other puppies
• He had a spade shape on the back of his neck and we were really into playing poker at that time
• And Eric was able to flip him over on his back and he didn't struggle

And so we chose our Swisher (who was also given the middle name Amadeus).

They were ALL this cute. It really was hard not to take them all. 

He was left at the farm, since I had to leave for Chicago in a few weeks and thought it would be a little too much for Eric to have to take care of his new step sons and a new puppy for several days straight. So after I got home from Chicago, the boys and I went on a secret road trip to pick him up and they were SO surprised and happy! 

Swisher was a pretty good puppy. He was almost completely house trained when he came to live with us. He had a little shoe fetish though, and I lost several pair of shoes to him. I think he felt bad. 

Now he won't chew on anything unless he feels sick and there is no grass around. Then he eats belts from coats, his toy ropes, and towels. 

While Eric was working on foreclosed homes, Swisher would go with him and have adventures running around on farms and being forced to take pictures like this: 

He is an AWESOME traveler, and even driving to Phoenix, Los Angeles, Denver and home, you'd forget he was even in the car with you he was so quiet and chill. He lets us dress him up, even though he seems embarrassed. 

He's a very good sport.

We decided he needed a little sister in January of 2013. This time I got to pick out the name, and since we'd started a theme, I chose Zima (malt beverage no longer available). We just need a firearm name and the ATF theme is complete. She also had to receive a middle name, so I chose Anastasia. 

I again went online and found a litter of boxer puppies in Winterset, IA. The breeder wanted people to come pick out their boxer puppy at 2 weeks of age, and then come back and pick them up at 8 weeks. By the time we were able to get to her to pick one out, there were only 2 females left, a brindle and a fawn. We wanted the brindle just to have something different. I did not like picking out a puppy that young because they have no personality yet, and you have no idea what they will be like. I was right to be worried. 

"She has a smart bump," they said. Uh huh. 

I went to pick Zima up on my dad's birthday, March 13th. I put her in my car and she looked at me and barked. Swisher hadn't barked for a couple of weeks after we'd brought him home, so I knew I was in trouble. The drive to Cedar Falls from Winterset is 3 hours. I stopped 3 times for her to go outside, and she peed all 3 times. That, however, did not stop her from peeing on my passenger seat as well. She finally fell asleep in my lap, and although she is much too big now, I think she would prefer to be there while traveling. 

The long ride home.

We introduced her to Swisher and she immediately took over the house. She started played tug-o-war with him even though he could swing her little 8 pound body around. She chewed on his face. She took his bones. She ate his food, so we gave up and let them both have adult food. She also snuggled with him. 

Bosom buddies.

They are best friends. They run together. They play together. They take turns watching each other eat. She is still the dominant one and will take anything he has, and he lets her 99.9% of the time because he loves her. The other .01% he's just being a grumpy old man and is frankly sick of taking shit from her. 

They LOVE the snow too!

Zima is definitely one of a kind. I wanted to get rid of her as a puppy though. She peed and pooped on everything for a couple of months. It didn't matter how many times I took her out. We ended up having to get a kennel for her because she loved to tear up boxes of tissue, papers, cardboard, and any plastic she could get her teeth on. The kennel has been gone for a few months now, but you still need to do a check around the house for things she might chew up. She's chewed up numerous eye drop bottles and chap stick tubes. If she greets you at the door, all is well. If she hides under the dining room table, you know you need to start looking for what she did. She is a sock thief, she likes to hide under the bed, and she LOVES tennis balls and frisbees. It doesn't matter what is going on or who might be around. If you pull out a tennis ball, you have her attention 100%. Swisher is all about lasers. Zima is all about balls. (Get your minds out of the gutter you dirty scoundrels!) She is FAST. She is a jumper. And she loves to chase kids on sleds. Did I mention she is FAST? 

Our Boxers are awesome. They LOVE our parties. They love people. They love other dogs. They LOVE kids. Even though they've been sleeping with you for the past 8 hours, when you wake up and they see you, their little nubs start wagging, taking their butts with them. They do something called kidney beaning, where they bend in half and continue to walk (usually sideways at this point) and wiggle their tails. They are clowns. They box each other and like to box all dogs, but most other dogs will have none of it. They play tag with each other and have figured out that they don't have to chase each other all the way around the house. Zima stops and turns around because she knows where Swisher will come out on the other side. They do the same with the back garage. One on one side, one on the other... and they will tease each other running back and forth, but never around, until they spot each other and give chase. 

If you don't like dog hair, or don't like to be licked, or loved on, or sat on... then you might want to avoid our house. Because we have a couple of dogs that love to show you how much they love you, even if you are a stranger. 

Window buddies staying warm on a sunny winter day.

Swisher and Zima have their own Facebook page if you would like to follow them. There are so many more pictures and videos there. Swisher and Zima.

I am glad we have them, even though I know how incredibly difficult it will be to lose them. They are a part of the family. They show you unconditional love. They are dogs. And dogs are awesome.