Tigger

The dog is our first child. Almost seven years ago, Kevin was finishing up an ER rotation and one of the nurses was complaining about their wild dog, saying that they really couldn't handle him and needed to give him to someone else. As luck would have it, Tigger was the exact same kind of dog I had grown up with (wire-haired fox terrier) and I was in love with the idea of having one of my own before we had even met him. He was already a year old and house trained, but WILD. This poor dog had had zero obedience training or discipline. He knew no boundaries and literally bounced from one piece of our furniture to the next. He paced our apartment, unable to relax. I took him to my parents' house for a visit right after we adopted him and all he could think to do was run to the upstairs bathroom to eat the bar of soap. My dad told me to give him back. They wouldn't take him.

We were stuck with Tigger. About that time we found out I was pregnant. So we enrolled him in obedience training and did "doggy bootcamp". He's turned into a good dog, despite a few neurotic obsessions and behavoirs. He still gets on my last nerve. I'm convinced he only barks during the following situations: 6:30 in the morning so the neighbors are bothered, naptime so the children wake up, Kevin is on call or out of town so I'm sufficiently on edge. 

The best thing about him is how he loves our kids. He actually plays gentler with the girls than he does with Kevin. The most interesting development within the past few months, though, is how much he loves Peter. He likes the girls, but he loves Peter. When Peter cries, Tigger shows up and hangs out next to Peter until I come. Sometimes we get home from an errand and I leave Peter napping in his carseat. When he wakes and I go to get him out, Tigger is right there beside him. I don't remember Tigger ever caring if the girls cried. It warms my heart and makes Tigger a little less annoying to me. It's going to be fun to see how their relationship develops.