Going Back in Time: Mom's Diary 11/25-26/2005

"What was I like when I was a baby", I asked Mom?

She told me that she kept a diary, just like I do, so she wouldn't forget a single moment. She was so sad when my Aunt Rose died that she even wrote a tribute to her called "Memories of Rose Anne". She told me that she gave all of Rose Anne's stuff away because she didn't ever want to love somebody as much as she did Rosie, and then have to hurt so much when they left. She said she lasted about a whole week before she realized that she really missed having a warm fuzzy baby in her house. I was too little to write back then, so maybe this will tell you about me as a teeny little baby and how me and my mom got acquainted. Mom says it's ok if I share her diary with you.

-----------Mom's Diary----------------

11/25/05 - Friday after Thanksgiving

My heart is so empty and I miss my Rosie so much. I've scanned the internet for Papillons but find none near me. I thought perhaps a Papillon puppy since I see Rose's sweet little face in theirs. I get dressed and go visit Pacific Pets in Temecula. I play with a darling baby Cairn Terrier - a girl - but she's absolutely wild. Maybe she's excited about the possibility of going home with me, but she began chewing on my shoes. Not a good sign.

I played with several other pups, and finally the sales clerk put two dogs in the pen with me - a Maltese and a little Yorkie. I've always been attracted to Maltese, including this tiny darling. However, once inside the pen she's all over the place with a bark that could shatter glass. She also likes to nibble shoes. The Maltese goes back and I turn my attention to the sweet little Yorkie. She's reserved, inquisitive, polite and does NOT bark. Most importantly, my shoes are of a passing interest to her, and she's not interested in tasting them.

She's very happy to be held, and when asked for a "kiss, please", she demurely gives me two of the sweetest baby kisses. Then she asks to be put down, circles the floor and reluctantly takes care of business in a remote corner of the pen before coming back for more cuddles. Could this be love, I ask myself? To be sure, we sit quietly and visit for a while. I don't think there's any question that we belong together. I feel Rose's presence very strongly and I know she approves.

As we leave, I remember the time the pups got out and I thought they'd been stolen, so I get a tag with my phone number on it. What's her name? I have no idea. I had thought maybe "Ruby Rose" or "Shirley", but they just didn't fit. The engraver told me to bring back the tag when we figured out her name. We piled into the car, my new baby in her little car seat. As we were getting comfortable, the most unlikely name passed through my mind. I looked at her and found her looking back at me in all seriousness, and I said her name aloud.

"Mary-Margaret O'Brien"? Her little eyes twinkled and she seemed to nod. Yes. That was her name. She immediately settled down into her car seat and acted as if she'd been doing this all her life. A strange name for such a small dog, but she answered to it immediately. I wonder if reincarnation is an actuality?

By the end of this first day, she's pottied outside all by herself, played fetch with her stuffed squeaky "trout" (yes, it's a plush fish), explored in tiny places between the cupboards and the fridge getting stuck more than once. She's fallen into her water dish, skidded across her "place mat" while stepping in pureed turkey and tracking it everywhere, and she's totally worn out. She loves to cuddle and gives kisses every so gently. She has yet to bark, and she's now sound asleep in her little QVC box on a fluffy red towel.Ask me tomorrow how we're doing. But so far, so good. :o)

11/26/05 - Saturday

I'm so amazed. She slept all night in her QVC box with only one potty break requested at about 1:00AM. I needed one, too, so we both went and then got back in our respective beds. At 6:30AM, she informed me it was time for breakfast and we both stumbled into the kitchen. She approaches the sliding glass door and we go out. She immediately heads for the grass and I know I made the right choice. How smart is she that, at only 9 weeks, she is practically house-broken?

Everything is a trade-off. I discover that while she may be house-broken one way, she has a fascination for electrical cords. She learns the word "no" very quickly. Then she discovers that "no" is not an absolute, and she does have a strong will. We battle on and off throughout the day.

Her doctor's appointment for a general physical is at 2:30PM. She weighs 2.1 pounds, and she's pronounced in perfect health and even has a good bite. I knew that already (ow ow!), but the vet meant that she wouldn't need braces in the future. We're invited back to "Puppy Socialization Class" at 4:00PM. That gives us just enough time to check the mail at the office, buy a fancy leash in order to appear well dressed in school, and get back for her class.

Her first friend is "Sandy", a 10 week old long haired Chihuahua, who is quite handsome. He also reminds me of a caramel-colored Rose Anne. My heart twinges for a moment, and then we go outdoors in back.

There is a large concrete patio area with folding chairs lined up on both sides for the puppy parents. Already there are about eight babies of varying sizes and breeds playing together. The tiniest ones, like Mary-Margaret, are held in Letty's arms to acclimatize themselves to the group environment. Samantha (a Maltese) is very possessive of Letty. She doesn't want to share her space with Mary-Margaret or anyone else, and she lets them know with ear-splitting yips and raspy little growls. Mary-Margaret ignores Samantha and takes her place on Letty's right thigh. Sandy joins them, and eventually Bailey (a Shih Tzu) trots on over. Mary-Margaret is very sweet with everyone, and makes up for Samantha's lack of manners. Perhaps Samantha just knows she is beautiful and doesn't have to concentrate on her inner beauty?

The other children are already on the lawn, playing and wrestling. There are tasty treats for all the babies and they quickly some learn who is holding them. My first "trick or treater" is Lucky, a Newfoundland something-or-other. He really is lucky. His mom found Lucky, his sister Sadie, and their mom walking along the 215 freeway and rescued them. Lucky is about 10 weeks old, according to the doctor, but he and his sister probably weigh about 25-30 pounds. Roxie (a red pit bull) and Kitty (a Queensland Heeler) play pretty roughly but Mary-Margaret doesn't mind...at first! The second time they wrestled their way over to her, she flattened herself into the grass, barely visible even to my eye, and the two big pups passed right over her without another glance. Then she ran to "mommy".

Godiva is an older chocolate miniature poodle that acts as an assistant pre-school...er..puppy school...teacher. She is an example to all the children as to how they should behave. Bella, a 10 week old Australian Silkie terrier arrives a bit late. She hangs on the outside of the group, reminding me that it's always difficult to come to a new situation after everyone else has gotten to know each other. Perhaps next week she'll feel more at ease. There is also a beagle pup and it seems possibly a couple of others. They move pretty quickly and have already grouped into "big dogs" and "little dogs" cliques. I don't remember the larger ones as well as I do the smaller kids, since all of my attention was focused on Mary-Margaret and how she was interacting.

It's so much like a real human child pre-school, including parents with cameras sitting on the side lines, that I can't help but smile. I had no idea that these little classes even existed, but I have decided that it's something Mary-Margaret and I can look forward to every Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00PM.

----------------End of Mom's Diary -----------------

Whew! I think that's all for today. Mom sure writes a lot. Maybe I'll ask her for some of the other days of her diary later. She say's it's like my "Baby Book", but now that I'm old enough to write by myself, or at least dictate by myself, she doesn't have to do anything except transcribe.

It's pretty funny that I knew exactly how to get her attention that first day we met. Ohhh....it was SO hard not to go near her shoes that first day, but I figured once I got settled I'd have plenty of time for that. (hee hee)

Love, Mary-Margaret O'Brien