Akela

We met our dog on a Cub Scout camp out. Another family brought her mom and siblings to the sleepover. They had met their dog while on vacation. She was a stray who came by their cabin in the Virgin Islands. They fell in love and brought her home to the continental United States. Then they realized she was pregnant. They didn't know because she looked older and had grey hairs.

Akela and her mama, Coco.

She had 8 pups when she had her babies in Minnesota. Four of her babies survived. All four of her babies found forever homes at that Cub Scout camp out. We named our pup Akela after the Cub Scout leader of the pack.

I remember my husband going to the store to pick up essential dog supplies while I drove home with Miss M and our new (as yet) unnamed puppy. At home our kids were immediately smitten with the little girl. None of them wanted to go to bed, even though the poor pup was exhausted and wanted to sleep. All the kids were ready to help with everything that had to do with the dog. As so many parents find out, the promises to take care of the pet were empty but we still have her hanging around.

Our dog is a giant pain in the ass most of the time. She barks at everything. She eats ear plugs then eats them again after she poops them out. She'll nip at strangers or down right bite them if she thinks they're messing with her kids. She's our protector for sure. I tried to get her better socialized, but those plans always fell through. She's overprotective which is both good and bad. Probably mostly bad. She is chilling out a little as the years go on though. Now she spends much of the day napping on the couch or on Miss M's bed.

She gets scared of storms and her safe place is Miss M's room.

It's hard to tell who is her favorite hooman in our family though. It might be a straight up tie between M and my husband. She will get super excited when they walk through the door. She will bypass me in a hurry to get to one of them. Although if I have food she will watch me like a hawk. "I see you have food. I also like food. Look at me. See how cute I am. Hungry. Yum yum."

Did I mention I also like pizza?

Although recently Akela has started to request my attention more often. She will sit and whine by my chair until I greet her and/or rub her paws. As a puppy she would fall asleep on the arm of my chair and I would paint her nails. Those days have long passed. She outgrew the arm of the chair long ago.

Not sure if you heard, but I also like pizza.

Akela loves our kids fiercely, almost to her detriment. We've had to take major steps to keep guests safe when they are at our house (like I said I tried to get her trained better, but promises from friends fell through.) Thankfully, she has been fine with my mom who is by far our most frequent visitor. Akela will not settle down until my mom has pet her and acknowledged her properly, however.

When M's boyfriend visited us from PA to take her to prom, we opted to board Akela, just to avoid any problems. I wish we could be more sure that she would be nice to "outsiders" but we still don't know. If we are away from the house, she is perfectly behaved. Even the boarders we have used have called her a sweetheart and said she is completely fine with other dogs.

So our dog is a major pain in the ass, but she's our pain in the ass.