Sometimes I wish
Sometimes I wish I knew Dante before he was a tripawd. Was he this goofy before? Was he so very far from graceful, like he is now?
He was such a young pup when it happened that I doubt I’d know the difference, with puppies being gregarious and clumsy. But honestly, if you look up the word “Goofball” in the dictionary, I’m sure Dante’s goofy big face would be staring back at you.
He’s got bald knees when he sits, his ears look like satellites, and hubby always says he has a man ‘bum’. He’s the first dog I’ve ever seen who actually has bum cheeks! Of course, he’s goofy looking in the most adorable way possible.
He get’s himself in the most interesting predicaments and positions. We have a coffee table that is 16 inches tall, with a shelf 6 inches below the top. Dante is 20 inches tall now. It would be difficult enough for a quadpawd to wiggle their way in there at his size, on the slippery wood. Dante does it, he runs and slides into it, like he’s sliding into home base. He then flips onto his back and pops his head out like a snapping turtle, and playfully nips anything that walks by.
Last night we had to pause the movie we were watching because Dante had wormed his way behind the giant couch cushion which then fell over. He then teetered precariously on top of the cushion, contemplating a leap of faith onto the coffee table.
I find a lot of humor in his tripawdness now. The way he moves, the way he looks doing things with one front leg. When he wants to wrestle with Mina, he rears up like a horse, steadies himself on his back legs and then – *Smuck*! Down comes his giant front paw onto her head. He does this playful, goofy, side step hop around the cats when he wants them to play, he almost looks like a little a bucking bull. He does perfect somersaults all over the house, all of the time.
Most of the time I know he doesn’t realize he’s missing anything. Other days I swear he’s well aware and he plays it up! If we want him to come inside or go into his crate when he doesn’t want to, he’ll simply let himself fall over to the side where his leg is missing. He then gives this pathetic look of “But, LOOK AT ME!! I only have three legs!” Sometimes he will do this on the deck or couch, and threaten to roll off, so we have to go run to him to catch him. You know how they say you should never go to your dog when you want them to come? Dante has perfected making us come to him!
He’s learned to wait until the other dogs are chewing their bones, so they will hold the bone for him. They’re pretty patient and most often let him get away with chewing their bone while they hold it upright. It’s pretty cute to see. His head is very strong, he’s compensated for his missing leg by using his head to pull himself up. He’s perfected the “Dante Head Smash Moms Computer Move” by pulling his front half up on the couch and them slamming his big, strong head onto my lap top screen. Mina barks at me to get off the computer, Dante just tries to break the computer.
I wonder some days if he would get away with as much as he does, if he weren’t a tripawd. Sometimes I am just too amazed that he’s capable of doing what he just did, to correct it. Other times it just has me in stitches on the floor, laughing too hard to say anything aside from “What are you doing goofy boy?!”.
He really has been a lot of fun and a source of endless entertainment.
Goof-Ball
Adj.
Silly Or Outlandish
