Ellie the WonderDog was JJ’s 30th birthday present. We were young and in love. We thought getting a lab puppy would be the next step in our relationship because we were not quite ready to commit to a baby but wanted to test the waters.
Wow. It’s amazing we decided to indeed have children.
Puppies are a jolt to those who have lived an independent lifestyle. To say that Ellie Rose was a jolt to our world would be an understatement.
We chose her from the litter because she was female and very, very chill.
She was very, very chill because she was very, very sick. She came to us infected with the bird flu unbeknown to the breeder and us. We took her home and she curled up in my lap and slept and slept. She wouldn’t eat. Something was wrong.
We took her to the emergency vetrenarian and they thought she had parvo. Parvo is often fatal and they thought she was going to die. We had had her for six hours and we were devastated.
She went back to the breeder, was diagnosed and treated, and returned to us a week later.
She was not chill.
She was sick.
In the place of that chill dog came bounding in a dog much like Marley from the popular “Marley and Me” fame.
She is now six years old and she still very much acts like a puppy. People keep telling me “Oh, yes. Labs. They’re puppies for about four years.”
Uh-huh. Except she’s six.
I love this dog. She is the only one in the house that is genuinely worried if I start to cry. She begins to pace and panic and sidles so close to me that I worry she is trying to leap into my womb. She just knows.
She is pulled on, picked on, ridden like a horse and hey – remember that she didn’t sign on for this.
Once in a while, she gives me the saddest eyes as if to say “Aren’t you going to do anything? Really?”
She used to go on long walks and stop at the Doggy Bakery for a treat. She used to have birthday parties complete with hats and, gasp, friends that came over to play in our backyard. I might have needed to get a life.
This is the first time I have written about Ellie the Wonderdog but it won’t be the last. She really is my first-born and I love her more than a person should be allowed to love their dog.
I particularly love her even more now that a friend told us about the Furminator treatment at Petsmart. No more hair all over our clothing and coming out of my kid’s mouths. Whew.
Princess Ellie Rose (Her AKC name. And yes, she acts like a princess.)
Our First Born Baby: A Haiku
A bundle of joy,
Your patience abounds with kids,
And we love you so.
Umm…Excuse me? Yeah, I’m supposed to NOT be wearing a Christmas necklace. K Thanks.
Doesn’t her face just look miserable? You might be too if you had a short and pudgy little guy on your back in just a diaper and dark socks.
Think Etta James singing “At Last”.
I’ve never been an animal person and we just got a cat. She is CRAZY and I love her. But she really is like a small child.
Your dog is so cute!! But I don’t know if I could imagine her with a hat…
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LOVE her!!! I love yellow labs–they are the worlds best dogs! You can tell from the pictures how much she is a part of your beautiful family!
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Ellie is the best dog ever (well, after Maddie of course…) I’ll never forget the quality time Ellie and I spent together when I used to babysit for Susannah back in the day. We definitely bonded over long walks and tennis ball throwing. :)
Brian is dying to get a lab one of these days, so it looks like we’ll be following in your footsteps!
You need to let your readers know that she was your “flower girl” or some kind of attendant in your wedding. They will all want to see pictures, too. I still remember asking permission (in the church) for you to include a dog in the ceremony. She is the best!
“pudgy little guy”? Nothing little about him. Looks like he could kill an ox with a blow of his fist. Baby Hercules is more like it.
You know, this probably is a better description of my youngest but it just didn’t flow as well as pudgy little guy.
He did almost knock me over the other day when he shook my legs for a paci…
Ellie Rose is a doll! I fully understand your love for your first-born. Oh the torture they endure when we decide to add kids to our family. “Please get off the dog!” is one of the most common phrases in our house. Of course, “Please don’t let her lick your mouth,” and “Please stop giving the dog your vegetables” are quite common also.
I just had to explain to my 3 year old that her best friend is not going to be with us much longer. She has terminal cancer and her time left is limited. I never could have imagined how hard that would be. Dogs are wonderful gifts sent to give us a demonstration in unconditional love. Oh how I treasure my first-born!!!
Amen, Collette. I am so sorry to hear about your “first born”. I can only imagine as I will have to be peeled off the ceiling when Ellie passes away. Thanks for reading!