Brody the Bulldog in the Car

Here is what Brody does on our way to work.

"Please Brody I need this job!"

I work with my mom, sister, and cousin doing medical billing.  We work out of my mom's house so needless to say it's a relaxed environment.  Contrary to what many believe we work very hard and are very busy at work but that doesn't mean we don't have fun and enjoy our jobs.  Because I work at my mom's house I am able to bring Brody to work with me, which is good since I don't trust Roscoe to be the babysitter quite yet!  So here is a typical day at work.  When Brody and I arrive and as soon as he gets in the door he makes a mad dash to Tucker's food bowl (my mom and dad's dog) he begins to eat as much and as fast as he can before I can come in behind him to pick up the bowl.  If you remember he never misses a meal and always knows where the food is served.  Then he waddles around the house looking for Hatcher and Solomon (my parents kittens who are named after their favorite wineries) Solomon loves to run and let Brody chase him but, seeing as how Solomon is a cat and Brody an 8 week old puppy, Solomon quickly out runs Brody and Brody is left looking around wondering "what the hell happened to the cat I was chasing."  Brody then turns to go into our office as soon as he is about 2 feet in the room he stops and pees a little on the carpet.  Did I mention that my mom just spent a lot of money to expand the office and put in new carpet.  This is why now, along with your usual office items on your desk things like a stapler, tape, pens, paper, etc. I also have a bottle of carpet cleaner.  Brody's favorite place in the office is under my desk.  My desk and my mom's desk are up against each other so instead of having the usual mess of cords that you get with one desk and computer we have that times two.  Add a puppy and you can imagine the mess.

Just a small example of what happens under the desk

We constantly pull him out but we know he's snuck back under there when the mice to our computers begin to move. Eventually, he calms down and takes a nap in his little bed next to my desk.  Only to wake up an hour or so later to have it all begin again!  Luckily, him and Roscoe are beginning to get a long a little more every day.  Which is good because I am not sure how long I can keep bringing my dog to work before I get fired or at the least replace the carpet!

Here Comes Brody

Everyone know the story of Pavlov's dog.  You ring the bell and the dog salivates for food.  This has been proven true with Brody. In fact I think it's one of the first things, if not the only, that he has learned.  The only difference is we don't ring a bell for food we just pour the dry food from it's plastic container into the bowl.  As soon as Brody hears the movement of the food in the container he comes running sometimes even barking.  No matter where he is or how long ago it was that he ate, if the food is making noise he is coming for it.  The main problem with this is that not only dog food makes this noise.  If we pour the goldfish out of the container, here comes Brody.  If we take crackers or chips out, here comes Brody.  When Harley, the cat, wanted food at 4am I poured it into his bowl, well Brody didn't come running because he was locked in his crate in our bedroom.  But if he can't come running he let's me know he heard the food with his howling and barking.  At first, this made us laugh we thought for sure he died of starvation in a previous lifetime, but now we consciously have to think "where's Brody" before we get anything that might make noise.  Last night Keith had a headache so I got the Advil out of the cupboard and tossed it to him.  Brody was back in our bedroom sleeping.  No sooner had Keith grabbed the Advil and here comes Brody bright eyed and bushy tailed looking for food.  Never mind the fact that he just ate 20 minutes ago.  Brody has good ears and will surely never miss a meal....now if would just learn how to pee outside!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Let me start by introducing our family.  We (The Shupe's) are pretty much your average family of 4.  There is Amy (the writer of the blog and the mom), Keith, (the husband/dad), Taylor, (the 8 year old daughter), and Kaitlyn, (the 6 year old daughter).  There is also Roscoe, our 4 year old Pit Bull Mix and Harley our 10 year old orange cat.  We also had another dog, Shasta, he (yes he) was our 13 year old Lab/Queensland mix.  He was the first dog Keith and I ever got together and he passed away at our house on February 5, 2011. Shasta's death was hard on the whole family and we all agreed NOT to get another puppy until later in the year, maybe fall or winter.

After Shasta died Roscoe seemed sad and very bored during the day while Keith and I were at work and the kids in school.  We started to think that maybe Roscoe needed a friend.  We started "looking" at dogs online. On March 1st we went to look at a litter of American Bulldog/ Pit Bull puppies.  Needless to say we took one home.  We decided on the name Brody and called it "Daddy's Birthday Present"  It's funny when you look at a cute little puppy something weird happens in your brain which makes you forget what a puppy is all about.

Brody, the first night home

In the 3 weeks since we have had Brody our lives have changed drastically!

The kids now must run from one room to another taking short breaks atop any furniture they pass along the way because right behind, there is Brody. If you stop for too long he will grab a hold of you.  If you're lucky he only gets your pant leg.  But occasionally his aim is better and he sinks those sharp puppy teeth into your ankle or your toes, cue screaming and crying kids.

As for Roscoe, he is not the biggest fan of Brody.  We are all hoping it's a size issue, Brody weighs 10lbs and Roscoe weighs 90lbs.  Hopefully as Brody grows, him and Roscoe will become friends, after all this was our main reason for getting another dog right away.  As for right now we don't leave them alone together so Brody is my companion at work (there will be a separate post about what happen at work).

I am not sure where this blog will go our how it will change as it, and Brody, grows.  I just know that having a new puppy around NEEDS to be documented because in the 3 short weeks we've had him he's changed the way we live our lives, caused us physical pain, but most of all made us laugh.  You can't make up stories like these but you definitely don't want to forget them either.