The Joy of Multiples

We were spoiled with Gracie and didn’t really know it.

Gracie is fairly well trained (until she shows that stubborn Samoyed streak), so things were pretty smooth and easy. She’s almost 3, so she’s out of the puppy stage and started to settle down. We had a regular routine with her—even if Bill got up super early, Gracie slept in until I got up. She had her basket of toys and bones, but she’d pull out one at a time and even help me put them away when I cleaned up. She had her places in the house where she’s like to go to nap—and most of them were usually wherever I was.

Penny the puppy joined our family six weeks ago, and in that time she’s managed to completely turn our house upside down.

Penny entered our house like a bull in a china shop. She’s only 5 months old, but already she weighs as much as Gracie, she’s at tall as Gracie and she has these big meaty bear paws that she can’t quite coordinate yet. She has no sense of her size or the swath of destruction she can create simply walking through the room.

Gracie is sophisticated and elegant. She’s very clean, her hair is shiny and neat (even when she’s blowing her coat), she sort of glides when she walks and she eats and drinks like a little lady. She’s very quiet, except in the morning and when I get home from work, when she’s very chatty, but beyond that, she doesn’t bark. She’s got her places she likes to nap in, curled up in a tight ball, and she’s gentle and a total love bug, snuggling up to me constantly.

Penny, on the other hand, is like a drunken frat boy. She is constantly dirty, her hair is a mess and it’s always got food or leaves in it. Sometimes both. Or the occasional snail. Don’t ask. She lays around with her belly hanging out, her tongue falling from her mouth, drool pooling on the floor. She slurps when she drinks her water, and sloshes it all over the place before flipping the bowl over. She inhales her food like a cop on duty, and belches like an old man. It’s not unusual for her to come up to you, pretend she’s going to be affectionate and burp in your face. Loudly. She’s full of sloppy wet kisses that require you shower when she’s done with you. She snores like a freight train and she barks way too much.

Sometimes it’s like living with Felix and Oscar from The Odd Couple.

But as different as they are, they seem to have forged a bond. Penny follows Gracie everywhere. She nibbles on her and sucks on her neck and swats her big polar bear paws at her. She lays on top of her, under her and as close to her as she can manage with out actually being Gracie. The two of them wrestle for hours, grunting, whining and slamming their teeth together. They chase each other through the back yard, and have worn out a path in the grass. They dig out my flower bed in the back, but when I catch them at it, Penny is too dumb to stop and keeps digging while Gracie stands there like, “It wasn’t me.”

We’re trying to get Penny trained, but unless there’s the promise of food or treats, she’s having none of it. What’s worse is Gracie sees Penny’s behavior and mimics it. She sees that Penny won’t come when called, so when I call Gracie, she just stands there and stares at me.

Our house is chaotic and crazy and loud. I vacuum every day now, and I totally have to stay on top of keeping the yard clean. Some days it’s a lot to deal with.

But these faces are totally worth it.

two peas in a pod