Cool McCool's Garage

A month ago, we got a puppy from the SPCA, a Christmas gift from our son Craig.  We’d had to have our beautiful Cocker “Frankie”, put down, when she developed cancer.  Ari (short for “Aria”, the name of MGM resorts newest Las Vegas property, chosen because Craig works for MGM Resorts there) is (allegedly) a Beagle/Jack Russell.  We now suspect that the shelter people just threw the “beagle” part in to not scare people off, given the energetic, high-strung Jack-Russell part, because this little dog is a handful!  Caught here in a RARE moment of repose, Ari is a bundle of energy with springs for legs.  Much different that Frankie was, at 14 years, she had been slowing down, a nice match for us!

Ari is 5 1/2 months old, and having not had a puppy before (all our other dogs came to us a young adults, already trained and housebroken) , it’s like having an energetic toddler in the house.  Who chews things.  We got one of those crates (I’m not supposed to call it a cage), and just this week a smaller one for her to sleep in at night.  We’d had her sleeping with us, but it’s surprising how much room an 11 pound dog, with razor sharp toe-nails, takes up in a Queen size bed.   That seems to be working out well, at least Kim says she is sleeping much better.  I kind of miss snuggling up with Ari…

One thing we’ve found is that having a puppy in the house completely upsets the decor, the “Fung Shue” in the home.  In addition to dozens of squeaky dog toys, two cages, suspicious spots on the carpet, we’ve now walled off the dining room in order to try to keep her corralled while we eat.  Pink foam board isn’t pretty, but it does seem to keep her in sight, and it’s easy to move.  Hopefully, that’ll be a temporary thing, once she’s had more than two days of not pooping on the rug as soon as we turn our backs. 

She is pretty cute, and, like Frankie before her, she makes everybody she meets fall in love with her.  She likes to ride in the car, she’s loves going for long walks, and gets along great with our cat, Milo.  I felt bad not having a dog after Frankie died, and while Ari has  a completely different personality,  she’s captured our hearts.