And They Call it Puppy Love

I'm in suburbia this week.  Will's sister Sue and her family are out of town for a few days, so I'm up in Kentucky, watching their house and their adorable puppy Gus while they're gone.  I've noticed some very strong similarities between watching puppies and kids.

1. Like children, puppies require schedules.  Gus functions at his best when he has a regular pattern to his day.  Our schedule this morning has included eating breakfast, getting some exercise by taking a walk, snack time, playing outside in the pool, clean up, and rest time. 
2. If it suddenly seems too quiet around the house, it's time to check on him.  More than likely he's up to something bad.
3. Puppies are mischieveous little guys. He has a ton of puppy toys, but naturally, his favorite things to chew on are the items he's not supposed to have.  So far this morning I've wrestled away from him the following items: a doll pillow, a water bottle, several mega-Lego blocks, a small action figure, my flip flops (twice),and a couch cushion. I find this annoying...he thinks he's funny.  I take one thing away, he comes back seconds later with a new item hanging from his mouth.  You can almost see him laughing at me as he triumphantly returns to the living room each time.
4. He loves snacks. Some of his favorites: marshmallows, american cheese slices, and Easy Cheese.  And he will do just about anything you ask of him if he gets a treat at the end. 
5. He loves to cuddle.  Anytime I'm sitting on the couch, he jumps right up into my lap and smothers me with puppy smooches.
6. He is endlessly curious.  Even if he's laying down and resting, his ears perk up and any sudden noise or movement on my end.
7. It's impossible to get him to sit still for a picture.  I've been trying for hours to capture his cute lil face.  It's just not going to happen.
8. You fall in love with him so quickly that you wonder why you don't have one of your own.
9. Then you clean up a steaming hot pile of poo out of the grass and quickly remember why you are petless.
10. He is exhausting to keep up with, but so stinkin' cute that it's worth it.

And since I can't get him to hold still, I'm snagging one of Sue's pictures of him so everyone can see what a cutie I'm dealing with: