Cozy

Cozy born last in her litter and is a bit smaller than all her siblings. Karla (the puppies' foster-mom) named her "Cozy" after her mother, who was also petite. We would never re-name an animal with sentimental ties like that, but we are very happy it's also such a charming name that suits her so well. We had only really intended to get ONE dog, but there were these two lovely little girls in the litter, and as John keeps telling me, "How could you leave one behind?" We couldn't. So Cozy is what the humor columnist Dave Barry would call "the auxiliary dog" (Barry's auxiliary dog was named Zippy, and "Zippy the auxiliary Dog" is part of the household vernacular--usually meaning sort of a third-wheel.) We are actually glad to have the two. The have been sleeping through the night, and they keep each other entertained, so in some ways it's a less needy puppy-hood.

Just because she was sort of extra and unexpected, don't think Cozy is second-class in any way. She's her own unique personality (and some of it's very naughty.) If there is a puppy chewing a pant-leg or someone's toes, it's Cozy. But she's also a perfectly mannered lap-dog. She's not just black and white--the black has subtle brindle highlights--and all four of her feet have white on them, like she dipped her toes in cream. She's a sweetie.

I have only had cats my entire adult-life, and mixed breed cats are generally so far removed from any identifiable lineage, that people usually don't ask what breed one's cat is. Dog people ask. They ask about your cats and they certainly ask about your dogs. When they find out the dog is mix (duh!) they then go on to say which part of your dog takes after which parent (which will be completely opposite of what the last dog fancier told you.) Sigh. To me, Cozy looks more like a Boxer. I think the pattern of her coloring and her more dainty proportions are more Boxer-like than Bulldog-ish. I just hope she continues to be petite, otherwise, I'm going to have a 40-50 lb lap-dog!