Mutt and Jeff

...better known as Wobbles and Maxie (short for Maximillian), our cute and wacky pets. Wobbles is about to celebrate his ninth (or is it 10th) birthday. After our beloved cocker Cosette died, Zachary begged and begged for another dog, so John and I finally caved. We even paid $100 for this pure-bred Cockapoo. Imagine our surprise when we took him for his first puppy exam and the vet said, "What a cute terrier mix." But it was too late to put up a fuss with the sellers and too late for a bobbed tail.

The puppy was so adorable, but for awhile we even wondered if he was crippled. He sometimes would drag his hind legs behind him and when he tried to sit, he wasn't very steady on his hiney - kind of reminded me of those Fisher Price toys "Weebles." Remember, "Weebles wobble, but they don't fall down?" That's how the moniker Wobbles was derived.

Now Maxie was originally Guapo (Spanish for "handsome"), when he belonged to the next door tenant. When the renter moved to a new place, he could only take one of his two cats, and Guapo was up for adoption. The landlords wanted to take him, but they already have five wild cats and so we said, "Yes." I re-named this elegant, long, lanky, loving animal and he has been a part of our family for almost two years. We are always covered with cat hair, especially in the spring... so we vacuum alot, and buy lint rollers by the dozens. They are standard equipment for every room in the house and both cars.

Have you read and heard stories about how animals have a certain sense about when people have medical problems, like having a heart attack? Well, Maxie always knows when Wobbles is hungry or needs to go out to do his business. Really. He wakes us up meowing in the mornings and keeps jumping up on the bed annoying us until we get up and let the dog out. He continues to advocate for Wobbles until we feed him. No kidding, you'd have to see it to believe it. In fact, when we go to let the dog out or get the food to feed him, Maxie runs ahead to make sure we know where the door is or where the dish is! When Wobbles is outside, Maxie waits and watches by the window until he comes back.

These guys won't snuggle or sleep together, but they check each other out and seem to be so happy to make sure the other is doing okay. One of their favorite napping places is at the top of the stairs, where Wobbles makes his place on one side of the landing and Maxie makes his spot on the opposite wall - not too close, but not too far away.

What can I say... we are softies and even though we hate all the poop and hairballs, our four-legged friends bring us comfort and joy.

NOTE: JUNE '14  I can't remember when we had to put Wobbles to sleep. He gave his life protecting Maxie. He already was lame in one hind leg and one afternoon a bad cat was attacking Maxie down in the yard. I ran outside to the screeches of fighting cats. Wobbles heard it too and ran past me out the back door and down two flights of patio stairs and tore after the cat that was fighting with Maxie. Watchdog to the rescue. But when it was over, Wobbles came back dragging his hind quarters: he had broken the other leg. He suffered for a couple of days and couldn't even get himself outside to relieve himself. John took him to the animal shelter. We were heartbroken. Maxie was heartbroken and mourned and missed his friend for a very long time. I need to add some photos.