My Dog Oscar

I am a huge dog lover. Now that I have our dog, Oscar, every time I see a dog while I am out walking or going to places, I have to stop and fawn over the dog. There is a vitamin store in our downtown area with a beautiful white Siberian husky with pale blue eyes (Max) -- the eyes are a bit intimidating but such a sweet dog otherwise. But at the end of the day, I always think that none of the other dogs are as precious as my Oscar :-)

What I love about Oscar is that he is so quirky and interesting. Right now, Oscar is passed out sleeping next to my chair with all 4 legs pointed toward the ceiling. In fact, I don't think I realize how much dogs sleep until we had Oscar. He probably sleeps anywhere betweeen 16-20 hours per day. Must be a nice life being able to nap all the time! When Oscar dreams, he makes this hiccup sound or a low growling sound -- it makes me laugh every time -- but then I am easily amused!

I find it fascinating that dogs always know who the pack leader is and how they act differently with different people. Oscar has different cuddling habits that he does with each of us that he doesn't do it with the other person. He also knows who to listen to and who he can ignore. Apparently, I am the alpha dog and my husband is just another dog friend :-)

Another thing Oscar does that I think is so funny is that he knows how to open doors. Since some of the doors inside our home don't all stay snapped in the lock, they can be easily opened with a gentle push. So if we try to leave Oscar in the front part of the house at night so that he doesn't roam the hardwood floor and keep us up with his walking "clogs", he'll push open the hallway door and come waltzing in anyway :-)

Oscar is 5 now and I find myself sometimes realizing that the 5 years have passed by too quickly. Once in a while it makes me momentarily sad that he is getting older and that I might have only X number of years with him. I know it's silly since he still has close to 2/3 more of his life to live, but the thought does sometimes cross my mind. Watching Maley and Me at the theater recently about the life of another dog really didn't help. It got me a bit sensitive about Oscar's mortality for a couple days :-) When Oscar was a pup, he was just this cute little teddy bear. One of my fondest memories of Oscar as a pup was about me having to carry him up the stairs in our previous him when he was too young to climb...and then slowing teaching him to climb the stairs because he got too heavy for me to cary. Another fond memory captured in photos was when a friend of mine managed to get Oscar to sit still as a slightly ADHD pup and took this beautifully chorographed picture of Oscar against a red blanket background.

It is true what they say in literature about how your pets are a good way to de-stress. I always find after a long day of work that it is soothing to hang out with Oscar watching TV or playing fetch with him. As someone who doesn't really care to be home alone when my husband occasionally goes on business trips, Oscar gives me this peace that makes being home alone not so bad.

Speaking of which, I am going to go and hang out with Oscar now. Up for a movie tonight might be Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I am sure Oscar will enjoy the international sceneries :-)