The One with the Ode to Chubbs

This cute, happy looking guy here is Chubbs, my agility/therapy/Canine Good Citizen dog who I love to pieces. We think he's a Newfoundland/Rottweiler mix. I just want to take this time to say what a great dog I think he is because I've been so sad about his thyroid problems lately.

I found Chubbs when he was six weeks old. He had been abandoned in my yard and was covered with fleas. It was Labor Day, so animal control wouldn't come get him until the next day. I decided to get him a flea bath. The woman who bathed him told me that there were thousands of fleas on him. They had eaten away part of his hair, and he seemed so sad. All he wanted to do was sleep. The next day, I decided to take him to the vet. He had worms, of course, from his fleas, so I started giving him some medication and nursing him back to health. He also needed to be potty-trained. My office never smelled the same after Chubbs came along.

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to keep him because Muggsy didn't seem happy to have another dog in the house, but my boyfriend at the time really wanted him. He became a part of the family. It was so rewarding to see him start to feel better and develop a personality. He would get so excited when it was time for dinner that he would go running full blast across our wood floors and slam into the wall when he tried to turn the corner. We never thought he was that smart, but he was loving and made a nice complement to the house.

When Paolo and I broke up, I thought he would keep Chubbs, but he didn't want him. That left me with two 80-pound dogs who didn't really like each other. Muggsy kept attacking Chubbs, and I didn't know what to do about it. At one point, I had even considered giving Chubbs to my mom. But something about Chubbs just makes you want to stick with him.

I became a dog trainer and had him evaluated by my new boss. I started training him and was amazed at how quickly he learned. Turned out, he was a lot smarter than I gave him credit for. I started using him as my demo dog in class and became amazed at how much people loved him and how much he loved people, especially kids. Just Sunday, he broke off the agility course to say hello to a little girl. I decided to do therapy work with him. He passed both of his tests with perfect scores. In fact, the women who evaluated him absolutely fell in love with him. Right now, I'm too busy to get too involved, but we visit a group home twice a month, where he was just recently honored for his service.

I also have him doing agility, not because I think he will be good at it but because I want to learn more about it, and he's such a good sport. He's actually amazing at it. He's not fast, but he's not afraid of the obstacles. When he's not showing off by running to visit one of his many admirers, he runs the course beautifully. You should see his chest puff out when he gets applause.

This Sunday, he was feeling pretty bad, trying to adjust to the medicene. Many of his admirers noticed that he seemed lethargic. But he stuck with it the whole class. He was the first dog to get the weave poles right, he did the jumps perfectly, and he even trucked up the A-frame, which he hates. When he looked up at me, waiting for his liver treat, I couldn't stop laughing and realized that I want more than anything for him to be OK and healthy and happy.

Anyway, I just wanted this chance to brag about how great he is. Because he is. And he seems to be feeling a lot better today. When I get up in the morning, his tail wags so hard that his butt almost swings around and hits him in the face. He's so happy. This morning, he did that again. And that makes me happy.