Ode to Cash

If nothing else, the title of this post will get Rob to read it. Although he'll be sorely disappointed because this post is about my puppy Cash, not the kind of cash Rob would write an ode to.

Anyway, I love my dog. I've always known it -- ever since he looked at me with he dark chocolate brown eyes and threw up all over my back seat. We bonded instantly.
And last week Cash was very sick and threw up all over the house (seriously this dog has thrown up in the last 7 months more than both Hannah and Elizabeth combined in their lives of the past 7 (almost 8) years!) so I had to take him to the vet and he had to spend the night in the hospital.
HOSPITAL!
It turns out he just had a bad stomach virus, but it was kind of lonely around here without him for that day and a half. Because even though he can be a very very BAD dog, he's mostly a very GOOD dog. See, here he is with Hannah: What you can't see is that probably about 25 seconds before I snapped this picture Hannah and Cash were driving each other CRAZY. Lizzie and Hannah see Cash as their baby brother and treat him accordingly. I think I break up just as many fights between dog and girl as I do between girl and girl. Ultimately though, Cash is very forgiving and they all make up and live to fight another day.

Lizzie has told me that she's jealous of Cash and that he gets to stay home with me all day. I told her that it's really not all that interesting. Pretty much Cash sleeps during the day except for the walk we try to take in the late morning. He needs to conserve his energy for when the other puppies get off the bus. Here he's giving Lizzie a little puppy love:

Here are Cash's stats: He'll be a year old on Nov. 17 and he weighs around 50 lbs. I don't know how tall he is, but I know that when he stands on his hind legs he's as tall as me, and he can jump on the kitchen table unassisted in one leap. He can sit, lay down, stay (once in a while), get up and dance (usually with Hannah). He likes to eat everything EXCEPT his dog food. And by everything I mean bandaids, kleenex, toilet paper, dead things on the lawn, leaves and the occasional raw chicken that's been left to thaw on the kitchen island.

Interestingly though, Cash has a delicate stomach which means that when he eats these things we get to seem them again. One way or another. I'm sorry for that visual. I probably should have put a warning in case you were reading this over your breakfast... Anyway, Cash now is supposed to get doses of Pepcid when his stomach is upset. And he'll have to go back to the dog hospital if he has another episode like last week because he got dehydrated. Oh and he has allergies, too. He needs benedryl when the grass is growing or trees or blooming or something like that. I know he HAS allergies, but I don't know what they are to.

But I love him despite his puky stomach and craziness with the girls and the fact that if I don't get to bed in time he appropriates my side of the mattress. I love him because he is a good dog, he gives me kisses, he makes me laugh, and (mostly, I think) he's the ONLY person in this family who actually listens to me (at least once in a while.)

And because I love him, this is what happens when you're mean to the dog. You get to spend some time in doggy jail WITH him... Let's just say this isn't the first time Hannah's been hanging with Cash -- nor will it be the last.