Memorable Monday #3

Today, I would like to take the time to really show appreciation to my pup. When someone says, "dogs are a man's best friend" they really mean it (well, excluding the fact that I'm a woman). This statement is true on so many levels. I feel like you never truly know how precious a pet can be until you get one of your own. My family used to have a golden retriever, but she was an outside dog, and I never used to play with her (I was really young when she was around). Whenever I saw my friends letting their dogs lick them, I became really grossed out. I just didn't get why they treated their pets like they were part of the family.
However, in my freshmen year of college, my brother and I decided to get a puppy (we live together). Him and I used to come home and just be stressed out to no end. We just needed something that would keep our minds off the misery of school--I know everyone has felt that same feeling at one point or another in their lives.
Anyways, my brother and I picked out a yorkie-poo (mix of a Yorkshire Terrier and a poodle). He was the runt of the bunch, and I really wanted a dog that stays tiny. When he first came home, he was very timid, but shortly became very rambunctious. It was the end of November and very cold; so, when I first laid eyes on him, he was traveling inside my brother's jacket. I saw this shaking little bundle of joy and instantly fell in love. I've never had a child of my own, but I imagine the love I felt when I first met my pup is the same love I would have for my child.
It took us a couple of days to think of a name, but my younger brother thought this dog needed a unique name, so he thought of Giorgio Armani. We tried a bunch of names on him, but none of them really stuck. When we called him Giorgio for the first time, he turned his head and ran to us. We then realized this was the perfect name for him.
When we first got him, he was a whopping 4 lbs. He looked like a black hairball. I have wooden floors in my apartment, and he couldn't stand on them. Every time he stood, his legs would give out from underneath him, and he would end up on his stomach again. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. The first few nights, he slept with my brother on the couch, but we had to put a little pad underneath him, since he couldn't control his bladder.

The first night at the apartment

His first meal

Him laying on my bed

The first night he slept over

My brother and Giorgio on the couch

Trust me though he was hard to handle. He had to be placed in a little play-pen while we were at school. He bit into everything--clothes, wires, shoes, his bed, his own clothes I put on him, etc. He peed everywhere, and was really really loud. As a puppy, he was an absolute terror, and I could not handle him. However, my mom came to stay with us for a month or so, and she trained him to go on his pad or outside, and behave a little more properly. He grew up and calmed down a little bit, which I am most thankful for, because I couldn't afford to replace everything he chewed in my house.
What is weird about Giorgio is that he changes colors! When we first got him, he was black with a speck of brown on his face. After his first haircut, he turned a brown/black color. His second haircut mad him turn gray with specks of black. Each haircut he has had has made him change colors. His hair then became gray and white, and then pure white. He just recently got another haircut and he turned back to dark silver with a cream colored face.

The Evolutionary Color of Giorgio:

A smiling puppy :)

I would give my life up for this dog. He knows me as "Mommy," and when I leave for a bit, I come home with this little fellow whining for me to come pet him. He talks back to me; he cries for and with me; he plays with me, and I don't know what I would do without him. He has become such an integrated part of the family. Even my dad, who does not like dogs, loves Giorgio (even though he won't admit it).
Dogs are a great responsibility, I know, but I make sure Giorgio gets as much love and attention as he needs. I feel that if you get an animal as a pet, you need to be able to take care of them. Being neglectful to your animal is just as bad as physically abusing them. They are like babies that need every once of love and time you can possibly give. They might only be here for a part of your life, but for them, you are their whole life. Their world revolves around you. They wait for you to get home; they cuddle with you when you are sad; they are always there for you when you need them. Cherish them to your best ability, because you don't really know what you have until they're gone.