I, like some other puppy parents, assumed that since my first child was perfect that my second one would be perfect as well. Benders story began with us in August of 2008 when, on a total whim, we picked up a Thrifty Nickel and saw an ad for boxer puppies. George had always talked about wanting an English bulldog. Ever since he was a little boy and saw the Ben and Jerry cartoon with the Bulldog named Spike it was his dream dog. But that was way out of our price range. But George loved the bully breeds so we settled on a boxer.
We came to the front door of the house and were greeted by 5 little adorable bundles of really happy puppies. We played with each one for a little bit and then asked the sellers which one they thought had the best personality. They pointed to the one with the little white spot on the back on his neck and said ‘Chomper’ which is what they called him. We cuddled with him for a little bit and George held him in his palm up to his face. The little puppy licked his nose and it was love. We named him Bender after the alcoholic robot from Futurama. We took him home that day and quite honestly I can’t really remember what life was like before him.
The first few weeks were the hardest as Bender was very frightened and did not like to be away from us ever. Kenneling him was an absolute nightmare. He would scream ALL NIGHT. Not just for an hour or so…ALL NIGHT. So George and I would carry him around in one hand everywhere we went. We had issues with him chewing on shoes but we got past that pretty easily.
George and I spent two and a half years planning our wedding in Jamaica. It was a long process and in the end totally worth it. However, it was a little all consuming and I know quite a few brides who have felt a little lost after the wedding. It is so much work and over so quickly how could they not feel a little sad. I was a little different as my wedding was kind of five whole days instead of just a couple of hours. Plus I was really happy that it was finally done. Life could now get to some kind of normality.
However, there was still a little emptiness. I needed a project of some kind or something to baby. As we were not ready for kids yet I wanted to get another dog. I also felt like Bender really needed a buddy. Sometimes he would just look at me like ‘Really? You are tired? But I am not done playing yet!’ after we had taken an hour walk and thrown the ball around the yard all afternoon. So began the search for a brother.
On April 15th, tax day, Tank was born…and 16 weeks later to the day we brought him home. And our adventure began. Tank was a 100% different personality than Bender. Bender is a 60lb lap dog. He will just chill in bed or on the couch. Tank is a 60lb ball of need. He constantly needs to be pet. He cannot just lie next to you or in your lap. He needs 100% of your attention or he is not happy. Bender got over his shoe fetish pretty quick. Over a year later Tank is still on the constant prowl for my flip flops.
In the first few days when we brought Tank home he got a hold of one and looked up at me for permission to take it. I started after him and his eyes got wide, he lifted his head as high as he could (because if he did not he would have tripped on the shoe while running away) and took off in to the living room to munch on his treasure. When I entered the living room he dropped it and then proceeded to do a belly flop on the carpet directly over it with all four legs spread eagle. He looked up at me like ‘What shoe? There is no shoe here!’ and I immediately busted up laughing. Over a year later…it is getting old. He destroyed the heel of one of Georges dress shoes a couple months back and I thought he was going to be on Craig’s List before the day was done.
But the chewing is not limited to just shoes. Oh no! Our coffee tables upstairs and down, our couch, all four corners of our recliner, the handle on the recliner is a gnarled remnant of a handle now, and our rug in the living room is getting demolished strip by strip. He also ate one of the corks out of a bottle of wine that was on the wine rack in the kitchen. And of course it does not stop there. Anything extra he can get a hold of he will chew like nail polish bottles, socks, bath mats, q-tips, hair ties, purses, Georges knit caps, George’s baseball caps, and slippers. And my little angel Bender has become his partner in crime. He has corrupted my other baby to help him! There is no way Tank could get stuff off the kitchen table as it is very high. However, Bender gets it for him and then hands it over to his little brother. He NEVER did this before Tank. And I am not sure what Tank told Bender to get him to do this for him but I hope it was worth it. Maybe he promised him his share of food one night or something.
Then there is his rock fetish. He is constantly eating rocks from the landscaping in the back yard. I woke up one morning and found 3 rocks in his kennel the size of my thumb that he had eaten and made him sick. Along with the rocks he loves weeds and grass. And now he and Bender have taken to digging holes. On Mother’s Day Tank hit a line to the sprinkler system and was a drowning mud puppy when he came in to the house.
Now one of the reasons we call him Tank is because of the fact that his is about the least graceful dog you have ever seen. He just charges in a runs everything over. And if something is in his way that he cannot move…he flexes on it like ‘I’ll show you who the big dog is!’ He has several arch nemeses consisting of inanimate objects. He hates the broom and vacuum but I think that may be because when I am cleaning it is time I am not paying attention to him. He will bark for hours at the umbrella in the back yard, he hates the industrial broom in the garage when it is just sitting there, and don’t get me started on the mail box. And for each one he crouches down and growls and snarls and jumps around and barks like these items have just ticked him off to no end.
Just yesterday Tank and Bender ate my digital camera that Bender retrieved off the table. Then we had the neighbors over for a late Memorial Day bbq and they brought their kids. I was so proud of Bender and Tank as they were very well behaved with the kids. It has been a fear of mine that they will not be too happy when a baby comes home. But they played and did not get to rough. The little boy was playing tug with them and they did not pull to hard. At one point the boy laid in the grass and Bender and Tank pulled him all over the yard. It was very entertaining and good to see that they could behave. Later that night George told me that if they eat another camera we can put ‘Good with Kids’ on their Craigslist ad.
Then we have this morning which took the cake. I was on my weekly conference call with work and I hear Bender out back barking like something is really wrong. So I send George out to investigate. Come to find out the neighbors got a new dog and Tank was so anxious to meet him that he ran head first in to the fence and busted through a board to the other side. The neighbors were out there when it happened and said it was the funniest thing they have ever seen. The neighbors were very nice about it and we talked about possibly replacing the fence because clearly it needs it.
So clearly our 2nd baby needs a lot of work. I would not trade him for the world…but there is a reason we call him can-Tank-erous.
cute
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