Lifestyles of the Not So Rich or Famous...: November 2007

I spent most of the hours that I was holding open houses at Eustis Street sitting on the sofa talking with George, the elderly owner of the property. However, when my cell phone rang one Sunday afternoon, I had no idea the excitement that was in store for me that day. My father called to inform me that my family was on the way to Debbie's Pet World in the mall to look at a little puppy. When my open house ended, I headed down the road to rendevoux with my family at the pet store.

The puppy was adorable. His fluffy coat was apricot in color and made his six pound frame seem much heavier. He ran around the little "visitors center" puppy pen playing with my moms feet. Dad went to work doing what he does best, annoying everyone with his picture taking. Mom made the decision moments later to purchase the baby dog despite the hefty fee. As the four of us continued visiting and playing with the crazy animal we went to work thinking of what his name could be. My father's boss has a Cockapoo who's name is Freeway, due to his tendency of running around like crazy. Dad thought the name Highway was good, but Jill was quick to shut that down, and chime in with the name "Fenway".

Surprisingly, mom agreed, and our new little puppy was named after the oldest Major League baseball park in the country. The Red Sox had been in first place since April 18th, and were continuing to dominate the American League with stealer pitching and timely hitting. I was house sitting at Mark and Trudy's so I was not there when the puppy made his grand entrance at 160 West Wyoming but I visited later that evening to play with the small animal.

A few weeks went by, and it was soon time for Jill's wedding. Fenway was in our family picture, and Jill and I had actually went and had studio pictures taken with him for our parents anniversary. Two days after Jill and Shad left for their Bahama honeymoon, I was on a plane to Brazil. It would be three weeks before I saw the puppy again, and when I got in the car upon my return I noticed that he had gained some significant size and weight. He was about 10 or 11 pounds now, and enrolled in an obedience course at Petco. Over the next few weeks he learned the basic commands: sit; stay; down; leave-it; watch; come etc.. He is still a puppy so even though he knows the commands his instinct often gets the best of him.

My mom worked hard training him to use the "pee pee bell". This is just a simple bell tied to the back door that he is supposed to ring if he needs to visit the great outdoors to take care of some business. After months of ringing the bell herself before heading outside with Fenway, he surprised her one day by ringing it himself. He is now about 17 pounds, already 5 pounds above where the puppy professional at the pet store said his "full grown" capacity would be. I am glad the dog is my mom's rather than mine. I help her anyway I can, but I hold the right to decline any task asked of me...seeing it is not my dog. I have all the benefits of having a faithful companion without the responsibility. Not bad!