A puppy born on Halloween

Most people are celebrating Halloween today but the most important thing in our home is a birthday, because exactly one year ago this little ray of sunshine was born.

Six short weeks later, she became part of our small family and a large part of our joy!  Will’s condition for taking her home was that we keep with our pre-nuptial pet agreement and derive her name from the Anchorman movie.  Much to my dismay, the gorgeous little baby was given a grandma’s name and Dorothy Mantooth was homeless no more!

She was so tiny that she fit XS clothing and such a baby that she wasn’t even weaned from her doggy mummy, trying to find a suckle-point every time anyone held her. 

When we brought her home, her older brother Baxter experienced a range of emotions that changed daily.  First he was cautious: keeping his distance and fleeing the room every time she made a sound.  Next he became curious: sniffing her, her toys, clothes, blankets and bowls incessantly.  Once he figured out that she was staying, he became mean and jealous: inserting himself between her and whomever was cuddling her at the time, taking away anything she was playing with and putting a resounding growl and STOP to whatever fun she was having.  This period lasted longer than the rest, yet Dorothy has the sweetest, most forgiving nature and never even considered holding a grudge.  Her older brother was back then, just as he is now, her absolute idol.  She followed him from room to room and tried to mimic him in every way, much to his ever-increasing irritation!

As the months went by with her trailing him and Baxter taking steps to shake her off (if anyone knows poodles, they know how smart they are –and some of his methods were HILARIOUS!), her resolve and adoration never wavering; Baxter’s began to crack. 

The first sign of his changing affection came on a trip to the park when a border collie tried to get too friendly with his sister – Baxter wouldn’t have that for a second! Up went his tail; out came his teeth and high-pitched bark as he ran charging at the imposter, not stopping until quite sure that the collie was a safe distance away.  Since that turning point, their friendship has grown slowly, starting with Baxter allowing Dorothy on his couch, then closer than 3ft to him, then it progressed to him not taking toys away from her the moment she picked them up, then she was allowed to sit NEXT to him, then drink out of his water dish and finally to touch him!  Now he’s as smitten with her as we are, still enjoying his time alone but clearly missing her before long.

Although Will and I never expected to have two dogs – let alone two small dogs – we are thankful every day that we gave Dorothy Mantooth a home.  She is absolutely the best dog we could ever imagine to complete our family and make us smile numerous times a day.  Thank goodness for a tiny dog who – through her complete way of forgiving, loving and not sweating the small stuff – makes us conscious daily of the type of people we should be.  

Happy birthday bubba x