The Woofs

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you..The legends themselves! Widget and Smudge. 

My fur babies, my woofs, the reason I can't sleep in, my reminders to play in the garden during my breaks and to not work late, the only two creatures to get genuinely upset when I exercise and are pretty much behave like plush teddy bears that are sentient.

Don't let this picture deceive you, they are vicious beasts! Okay not really, well maybe the little one sometimes but that's only because she truly believes that we all exist to serve her.

Since the 26th of August was International Dog Day, it was fitting to dedicate this week's blog to these two heartbreakers.

Widget is the eldest by four months but also the smallest in size. This means absolutely nothing because she will attempt to take down a dinosaur if given half a chance. She is a mix of Jack Russell and Dachshund and the first to be adopted. 

We got her at six weeks because Parvo was found in the kennels so she needed to be safe, which meant that she lost two weeks with her biological mum. Being so young, The Husband and I may be all she knows. So to her, we are her mum and dad and that's it.

What a tiny thing she was and always needing us to get anywhere. I was deep into my depression when she arrived and she pretty much got me out of it. When you are responsible for a tiny creature's life, it really changes your perspective. Yes, I had dogs before, but this was different. 

This one lived inside and she needed me to teach her how to pee outside, to sit, to play fetch and tug. I was forced to leave the house daily for walks. She was so tiny that she slept in the crook of my arm at night and spent all day with me. I probably have thousands of pictures of her and have lost a lot of books and socks when she started teething. 

She was fond of stealing just one pair of socks and running away with them whilst chewing. My Gods, she had sharp teeth then! I never saw so many things get shredded in record speed!

It became very clear that she needed company because her energy was out of this world and I was looking to start working again. Despite this, we decided to wait until after she turned one and was more settled.

But life doesn't follow rules. The day we took her to get spayed was the day we found out about Smudge. He was called Loki then and was abandoned on top of a rubbish bin, left for dead. He had had terrible mange and needed a home with a lot of love. 

The lady at the Animal Anti Cruelty League(AACL) started sending me videos of him because she was fostering him at the time. It took one video and The Husband had all three of us off to meet him. It was Widget's decision so she sniffed and checked him out. At the time they were the same size so she probably didn't see him as a threat.

That day we took him home and I renamed him Smudge, our family was now four.

Smudge grew and grew but never stopped being the baby of the house and because of them, The Husband and I try to be better humans. They have been on numerous holidays to have 'experiences' and play their roles as grandchildren well.

I have a cupboard of treats for them, am always on the lookout for interesting indestructible toys and throw a small Puppy Party for each of their birthdays. 

They both wear a small red string on their collars and patiently stand for prayers. Smudge is quite good at Tag and Hide and Seek. Widget's talent lays in Fetch and Tug, currently, with the Blue Steer, I purchased to replace some destroyed toys.

Smudge gets tucked in at night, by The Husband and it is probably the most elaborate sequence I have ever seen. You thought it was me right. No, we both are equally dog-obsessed, well I might be a tad more because I talk to them more during the day.

Amazingly, these two woofs make up our world. The Husband is even building a pool/pond thing for Summer so Smudge can swim because he unlocked that achievement on holiday.

Widget is convinced that she works with him and was genuinely upset last night when he went on a call without her. She will also kiss you to death if allowed whilst Smudge will bounce around you. He does kiss rather passionately and on command.

Occasionally they eat a little bit of curry and love biryani. They are Naidoos after all. You can't let your children forget their roots!

Every day we are protected via barks, from all the people daring to walk on the road which includes the neighbours going in and out of their own homes. The dog opposite the road is Widget's archnemesis for reasons unknown. Why we just had to get her from running over and probably calling him a wanker.

Smudge is just happy to run, skip and jump in the hope of food. He is also the best hugger and champion hoof eater. He also has this knack of looking at you while you talk and falling asleep sitting up like you've hypnotized him with your boring chatter. Cows terrify him amongst other things like hairdryers and the brush. He will nap with you but prefers being the small spoon in these scenarios and likes being called a Good Boy as much as possible. He also knows when it's food time and heaven forbid you are running late...

Widget watches TV with us especially if there are other dogs and horses. She tried rescuing some of those on holiday once. She has been known to watch the occasional animation with me and outrageous action on screen with her Dad. And will try to take down vehicles of all sizes. She also perches on things like a cat and if you have food she has this ability to be right next to you but fast asleep.

Her interests include convincing me that she is dying so we can take her to the vet only to be told we're being manipulated. She also enjoys smelling my roses, trying to bring down planes with her voice and attempting the world record for the longest game of Fetch played. 

They both love running free through fields and trying to catch birds in the garden.

I don't know how utterly awful life would be without them and don't wish to.