This goofy little dog. Looking back, getting an epileptic, non-housebroken dog three days after Sam had the biking accident seems like it would have been a mistake. But in reality, it was the best decision. Lucky Charms is simply the perfect dog for our family.
He’s the right size, small but still looks like a dog to me. I’m not a dog snob, but I really love german shepards, or labs or retreivers. Those are the dogs I grew up with, and that’s what I wanted. But our little apartment barely has enough space for us. Lucky looks like a miniature dog. He’s small enough for me to pick up easily.
He’s calm, never barks, has never shown any sign of aggression. Julianna was terrified of getting a dog, and still isn’t very fond of anyone else’s dog. But she loves this one. Jessie was already primed to like him. Even Marc, who isn’t really a pet sort of person, is reluctantly coming around. It’s impossible not to love Lucky. He’s peaceful, laid back, happy to go with us, happy to stay home curled up and sleeping. He loves going for a walk, loves going to pick the kids up at school, and best of all, his default position is curled up next to Samilicious Boy.
I’m not saying that housebreaking this dog has been easy, but I think we’re making some progress. Slow, slow progress. If I’m at home, and paying attention, then he will happily go outside. But he makes no sign that he has to go, so it’s really a matter of paying really close attention, taking him out on a schedule (that gets thrown to hell often enough with doctor’s appointments, etc), and copious amounts of praise and treats. He’s trained to go on a puppy pad, fortunately, so it could be worse.
The epilepsy seems to be mostly under control. I have a pill organizer for Sam as well as for Lucky. He takes one pill in the morning and at dinner, another one in the morning, mid-afternoon, and before bed. It seems to be working – we’ve changed the regiment around, adjusted and added different doses, but he hasn’t had a seizure in weeks. Best of all, having Lucky makes Sam’s life better. The quickest way to get him to talk to a doctor or nurse was to start talking about his dog.
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