Doggy Daycare

We've always wondered what it would be like to have two dogs.  In a way, Apollo is more than enough since he's so big, but we've pondered about adding another dog to the family one day.  This past week we got the chance to experience life with two dogs under one roof.

Asha has pet sat for Hoover since he was a young pup.  Now that she's out of the neighborhood she was still willing to pet sit for him over the week but it would be a pretty tiring commute from Salisbury, passing our house, and going to South Charlotte. We suggested to Hoover's family that he should just come live with us for a week.  They were up for it so... we went with it!

Meet Hoover.

The first night Hoover joined our household he was not a happy camper. You know how when a little kid is somewhere they don't want to be, so they basically hate everything? That was Hoover. He constantly growled at Apollo and wouldn't even look him in the eye!  He paced and paced just wanting to go back home.  Apollo, being the laid back giant that he is, didn't know what to do with all his movement. Watching him pace probably made Apollo tired. He really just wanted to play, but once he heard the growls he just gave up. The funny part about it all - we think Hoover was actually a little intimidated by Apollo and his size. Hoover really wanted no part of playing with him.

Day by day, Hoover got better and better.  No more growling at Apollo and no more pacing! We didn't think the dog would ever just lay down to sleep. They managed to take walks together, take car rides together, and entertain each other during the day.  I think Apollo enjoyed Hoover the most while we were at work.  We should've set up a camera to see what they did all day. We imagined them having some sort of conversation... probably something like this:

"Man... why do you keep growling at me?" asked Apollo.
"Why are you talking to me? I don't like you," responded Hoover.
"Just trying to be nice. Wanna play with my rope?"
"No."
"Wanna rassle?"
"No."
"Are you hot? Why are you panting so much?"
"Why are you asking me so many questions?! Just leave me alone!"
"Just sayin'... we gotta play now cuz once my parents get home, they just walk us and then we're pretty much done. My dad usually gets home first, takes me for a walk, maybe plays a little bit depending on if I'm good. He hates it when I don't come back on the leash. It makes me giggle... until he punishes me."

In reality, we're pretty sure they just slept all day.

It was pretty nice having Hoover around.  On his last day here, he actually started to play.  With us... not Apollo.  We think if he were given at least another week here, he would have warmed up and played with Apollo eventually.

Best Friends but not really.  This picture is misleading.

Although it was a little overwhelming having two dogs at the beginning, it became easier as the week went on. In a perfect world, we could get our second dog and it would already be trained and get along with Apollo.  The house feels so quiet now that Hoover is gone. Having him for a week helped us realize we'd love to have a brother or sister for Apollo. It would probably be another big dog, preferably a Mastiff. We'll be looking for more practice so if you're lookin' for someone to take care of your four legged friends this summer, give us a call. Maybe your dog can come live with us for a week!

Come back and visit us Hoover!