He was so tiny and sweet, he was all black with these big bulging eyes. I fell instantly in love. The girl selling him was a college student who just didn’t have the time or the patience to potty train a puppy. When we offered to buy him she told us someone else had just come by to look at him and they said they would be back to take him. I remember I was crushed. We left and asked her to call us if they didn’t come back. I kept thinking about him, I just wanted to go back and bring him home. We ended up calling the girl back a few hours later. The other people never came back to get him. I was in luck - I had a new roommate.
Jody decided on the name BJ (Billy Joel, of course) and it fit him perfectly. My little shoebox of an apartment was plenty big for him. He was 1.8 pounds when I brought him home and he literally fit into the palm of my hand. He made himself right at home in my laundry basket.
I knew nothing about crate training or really anything about training my own dog back then. I never had to before that because my parents always did the dirty work. All I knew was that I was in love with this little furball and the very first night he whimpered to come up into bed with me. Of course I let him up.
I went and laid paper out on the bathroom floor for him just in case he had to go in the middle of the night. But, BJ was so tiny he couldn’t get himself off the bed to get to the paper and he cried to get down. It was then I decided to take my pillows and blanket sleep on the floor so he would be able to get to the paper if he needed to. He snuggled back up next to me on the floor and there we slept. The next few months I just put my mattress on the floor so he could come and go as he needed to. There was nothing I wouldn’t have done for that dog.
Soon I found out he felt the same about me. That dog was something else. He was so loyal and always by my side especially in my college years. When times were tough, if he even heard me start to sniffle, he was right there to kiss away my tears. He made it cross country to Wyoming in a cramped car. Then he walked with me god knows how far to the bus station to catch a bus to the airport to fly back home from Wyoming to Florida when things didn't work out. He even put up with Chowder when I brought her home and she turned his whole life upside down. He NEVER even growled at Jaden or Jaime when they came along. The worst BJ ever did was figure out how to knock Jaden down to steal his bagel from him.
He always felt like more than a dog to me. He really was my best friend. I did feel guilty when the kids came along and he was kind of downgraded to dog status, but he took it well and was a great sport about it, as he was with everything else I put him through. He was just a sweet, loveable dog for all 17 years I had him.
I am so glad we called that girl back.
Walking the dog.
I'm just a walking the dog.
If you don't know how to do it
I'll show you how to walk the dog.
-Ratt (Aerosmith and many others)
-25 days and counting!