"We" got a New Puppy

So I say "we" because we (John and I) did not choose to get a new puppy, but rather his parents did... His parents, who are not at home, but on a motor home trip extravaganza... A trip that will last several more weeks... They were in Michigan a few weeks ago, and somehow ran across a breeder. John's mother loves Malteses (malteezes? maltooses?) and could not resist picking up another one. Yes, I say, another one. We already have two at home. And, yes, that "we" is referring to John and I, since we are the ones taking care of the little monsters while his parents are out of town. I present to you, the original puppehs:

So, his parents came through town last week for a mid-trip pit stop, and dropped off said new puppy... And I learned why we now have three of the critters: Malteese puppies are possibly the cutest things in the world. I think it's a survival mechanism. She tends to do one of three things: pee on it, poop on it, or chew on it. But since she's so darn cute, it's difficult to punt her across the room when she is bad. See? Survival of the cutest.

Her name is Maile (may-lee), which is Samoan for "dog." Yes, we named the dog "dog." But really for this family, it's a trend that has been years in the making. Back a decade or so ago when they got their first dog, John wanted to name it, and he, being a non-sarcastic teenager, chose "Dogee" (as in Dee-Oh-Gee). Then, a few years later with dog #2, his sister was getting into learning Japanese and so they chose "Inu" for her. So, really, once you name two dogs "dog" you don't have a choice but to find another pretty sounding language and keep going.

I went a little camera happy the other day, so most of these pictures are of her wet (she got a bath because she rolled in something stanky, a habit she has already learned from Inu).


She is super brainless, with only two modes of operation: ON (pee on it, poop on it, or chew on it) or OFF (sleep). It makes for exciting times in our tiny apartment. When she's ON, there are only us, the two dogs, and one cat for her to play with... and at any given moment at least two are hiding up on furniture Maile can't reach. Yes, she has short legs and we take advantage of that. But she is so cute when she finally crashes and goes to sleep.

Is this why people keep having babies? They can only remember the cute times? I mean, Maile has already peed or pooped about 30 times on the carpet (thankfully, her bladder is only a tablespoon, so it doesn't do too much damage), but she has gone after my shoes, destroyed the beanbag, and tried to tear up knitting patterns. Yet, I remain a fan because she is cute. I am a sucker for the cute. I know.