ask grandma j

DIVA UNLEASHED
or Lady And The Tramp, the sequel

I'm a dog lover. I don't own a dog anymore, and I don't plan on getting one any time soon. I don't have a yard for a dog to play in, and I think a dog needs a place to romp. I also have some travel plans that would take me away for up to a month at a time, and dogs are pack animals, they thrive on being part of a family. You can't train a puppy in increments either. Besides, I have JJ to play with, have sleep-overs and car rides.

Last Christmas, I was staying at my daughter's home. Her mother-in-law, Marianne, came for a week to celebrate the holidays with her son and his family. This was a special Christmas because she arrived in Texas the same day her son (my SIL) arrived home from Iraq.

I always enjoy seeing Marianne. When I drove to Texas from SoCA last year, I stayed at her beautiful home in Tucson for two days. Now, a bit of background...Marianne is the mother of six grown men. That's right, six boys, and no daughters....until she got Tabatha. So how excited were we when Tabatha came to spend the holidays with her big brother us too?

Now JJ is quite hyper, and neither he nor Tabatha are used to being around other dogs, let alone share the same territory for a week. To our surprise, they couldn't get enough of each other. Romping and playing, chasing each other, even lying down together when they got tired. Luckily they were both fixed, so we didn't have that worry. JJ was so attached to Tabatha that he threw a fit when Tabatha and Marianne went to bed at night and shut the bedroom door. He won that battle and wormed his way in to sleep with them every night.

So fast forward to this May. I emailed a picture of JJ to Marianne. One that I took with my cheap digital point and shoot camera. Similar to these two that I took today.

JJ loves to dare me to take his toy..within seconds of my arrival.

And he listens when I ask him if he wants to see Tabatha.

Yesterday, I got a lovely note from Tabatha and Marianne, with these pictures.

Can you tell "someone" is thrilled to finally have a little girl? Does JJ have good taste or what? and really? I don't think I could be as dedicated to a dog as Marianne is to Tabatha, but I'm tickled pink that she gets so much enjoyment from this pampered little princess. It fulfills a small little void, and she has her little baby girl to spoil. And my son-in-law has a cute little sister (oh, yeah, he will love me saying that). Tabatha is a lucky little lady. JJ like so many guys loves him a high maintenance lady!