A Boy and His Dog...or a Dog and His Boy

We are the proud owners of a beautiful blue pit bull terrier. Who after lots of research and thought, we named Zeus. Zeus has been a member of our family since some time in January. There have been times were I am sure my husband wanted to kill me for adding him to our house hold but for the most part he is, in every since of the phrase a family member.

Ayden, our three year old son loves his Zeusy! It also helps that he can so cleverly use him as a scape goat for some of his mischieves plans. Case in point....when asking Ayden why all the towels were pulled out of the bathroom cabinet he so cleverly replies "I didn't do it Momma. Zeusy wanted to pretend like he was a bull ." As so many of you know I am sure, it's hard to keep a straight face and scold a child when they come up with such quick witted responses. Of course he was talking about how the two of them get in the cabinet together and pretend all sorts of different things one of which is where Zeus is the bucking bull and Ayden is the cowboy riding the bucking bull. (We went to a PBR event and ever since this a frequent game at our house.) We often get many laughs out of our cowboy and his horse/bull/dog.

I am never really sure if Zeus belongs to us or if we belong to him. He is a large dog who isn't aware of his size. He thinks he is a lap dog and is never afraid to try to squeeze into a place on the couch where the smallest of dogs wouldn't dare attempt. One of my favorite moments to see is when I go in Ayden's room to find him and Zeus is his toddler fire truck bed watching a movie. It is absolutely priceless. However, surely soon to follow is a moment where one, if not all of us, are yelling at Zeus about what new item he has managed to sneak away with to chew to absolute oblivion. (victims of his serial chewings have been: several pairs of shoes Aydens, Kyles and mine from tennis shoes to flip flops, Q-tips, socks, hats, phone charger, pull-ups) What can I say other than with the good comes the bad.

In addition to the bad comes the ughhhhh yuck. On pretty days (before it got this hot) I would leave the back door open for Ayden and Zeus to run in out of the back yard. Zeus apparently brought one of his latest victims inside. When I heard his paws tick tick tick up to the front I knew he was up to something. Shortly after he came running back with something in his mouth. I reached down so sure I was going to find a sock and instead found a dead bird. Instantly I began screaming, scaring Ayden into tears. As I yelled at Zeus to take it outside! take it outside! He looked me with the most confused look ever. After minutes of yelling he took it and sat in his kennel. When he realized I was still yelling he finally took it outside. Ayden crying because he saw his mommy freak out, waited for the explanation of what had happened. Eventually I was able to laugh because my four legged baby was sooo proud of what he had done.

Ayden is a very inquisitive child. He constantly asks questions which I often struggle to find a true creative answer for. For example....what do you tell a three year old when he says "OHH NOO MOMMA! Zeusy's wee wee is hurt and bleeding. It's got a pink thing hanging out of it." My response....ummm well Ayden....it just popped out of its pocket. He's not hurt. All I can add to that is puberty please come as late as possible for my child!

Well sure I have rambled enough for the week. I hope you all have a wonderful night.

JPStrecker