the Nonsense in Between

Happy Birthday, Oni-Dog!

Today is Mr. Oni's first birthday. He doesnt know it but it's quite miraculous that he's made it this far.

We saved Oni from certain death when we purchased him from The North Washington Kennel. The conditions there are terrible and we'd never recommend anyone get a dog from them. When we met Oni we were not in the market for purchasing a dog but something pulled us to that awful place so that Oni could be saved. We brought him home and his
"nothing-to-worry-about-kennel-cough" turned out to be life-threatening pneumonia. We had to spend the first three months of his life shoving pills down his throat so he could survive.

Pneumonia behind us, our Oni saving days were not over. Oni has become an incredible escape artist often putting himself in danger. This summer, while fixing up Dominic's dad's house for the wedding, we had to find ways of keeping Oni in the yard and out of traffic. Everything failed. He even figured out how to get out of his harness, earning him the nickname Houdini (or Houdoni).

He dodged pneumonia and cars but was unable to escape the evil claws of a cat. The day before our wedding my little daredevil decided to pick a fight with a cat. Cat-1 Oni-0. The cat got him right in the eye and he nearly lost it. For a long time his injured eye stayed closed or squinted and is now a different color than the other one, earning him the nicknames Oni-One-Eye, and Only.

Moments like these make me think we should change that "Curiosity killed the cat" saying to "Curiosity killed The Oni". The dog is the most curious dog I've ever met. He is so interested in everything that he never relaxes and it leads me to believe that he is going to live a short life. At least I can say that it makes for an interesting home life as he continuously keeps us on our toes. If we dont give him enough attention he gets this look in his eye, his good eye, that says "I need intellectual stimulation or i'm going to find something very precious of yours and methodically and maliciously destroy it". Many dogs would be content with games like fetch, allowing you to zone out to prime time TV while satisfying your pooch with repetitive play. Oni, not so much. His favorite thing to do is learn the names of each toy and then be tested on his knowledge (He wants to go to Harvard when he grows up). He has quickly come to know the names of Bunny, Mouse, Loofa-dog, Fuzzy, Fox, Chewi, and Pinky.

Oni's vocabulary is quite extensive for a pup his age. Yet every time we say "No", "Down", "Stop", or "put that down before I call the Chinese Delivery kid to come pick you up" he looks at us like "je ne parle pas anglais".

His wild antics often elicit threats of abandonment, strangulation, and donation to the local Chinese restaurant. But before we can get our hands around his neck he does something charming to earn his keep in our hearts.

Oni, you're a damn lucky little dog. Damn lucky. Well except for nearly getting your whole penis bitten off by your biological mom, but like I promised I wont talk about that very sensitive subject anymore. Happy Birthday.

Posted by nicole at December 5, 2006 02:30 PM