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When Elise was about 5 years old she read a book called I Really Want a Dog by Susan Breslow and Sally Blakemore (Puffin Unicorn Books, New York, 1990). After reading the book over and over, she really did want a dog. So, about once a week, our family went to all the local pet shops and the Hawaiian Humane Society to look for a dog. Elise was hoping to get a dog for her birthday in May, but it took until November before she found just the dog she wanted.
Finally, on November 22, 1992, a couple of days before Thanksgiving, Elise found the perfect dog. Sitting sadly in a wire cage at the Humane Society was the cutest dog she had ever seen! It had brown and black spots on a beautiful white coat, and the sweetest, most beautiful eyes. Elise immediately thought to herself, "That's it! That's the dog I want!" And so, Spot was adopted and came home. (That's why the URL for Spot's Home Page is 3392...it stands for Spot's Anniversary, 11/22/92)
A few months later, we decided to get another dog, so we went back to the Humane Society and found Benji. He was really scruffy-looking. His fur was a mess, but underneath all that fuzz, we could tell there was a kind, loving heart.
Benji was adopted on June 4, 1993, so his URL is 6493 Please visit Benji's Home Page, where we have our "Petz and Oddballz in Hawaii" website.
We don't know what kind of mixes Spot and Benji are, but we've looked through some dog books to see which pictures they resemble. We call Benji a "Cocker-Bi-Tzu" because he has the saggy-baggy skin of a Cocker Spaniel, the curly coat, happy tail and cheerful disposition of a Bichon Frise, and the body shape, long coat, and long eyelashes of a Shih Tzu.
We used to call Spot a "Pap-itz-ell" because she has the big ears and fringy fur of a Papillon (or actually a Phalene, because her ears are droopy), the pretty white coat of a Spitz, and the liveliness of a Jack Russell Terrier. Now we call her a "Cookie Hound" because we found a breed called a Kooikerhondje that looks just like her. This nickname fits her perfectly, too, because she loves to eat sweets.
Even though the vet says Spot can't have any sweets, no matter where we hide them, she can climb up on shelves and tables, and she can open the most tightly sealed containers to get at cookies or candy. We really have to hide our chocolates, which are poisonous to dogs, because Spot will go to great lengths to find them.
After Spot and Benji made themselves at home, Daddy said that the dogs were getting too spoiled, so they had to go to Obedience School. Since Elise was too young, Joy trained Spot, and Mommy trained Benji.
Every Saturday morning Daddy dropped us off at the park down the street. Elise sat under a tree and watched as Spot and Benji, along with Joy and Mommy, heeled back and forth across the park.
Benji is...uh, shall we say...intellectually challenged. He usually acts like a big, clumsy lug. He won a ribbon at dog training class, but don't be deceived into thinking that he's smart. The only reason he scored so well is that it didn't occur to him to move during the long Sit/Stay exercises. Most of the other dogs wanted to know what was going on around them so they got up and lost points, but Benji just sat there like a contented cow and won a prize.
Spot, on the other hand is very bright and clever. She can do all kinds of tricks like shake hands, speak, and beg. But cute little Spotty graduated at the bottom of the Obedience School class! She kept getting lonesome for Mommy, and kept running to her instead of listening to Joy's commands. Out of 200 possible points Spotty got only 20!
Needless to say, the dogs are still very spoiled!
Even though Spot was supposed to be Elise's dog, she now sleeps next to Mommy every night. If Mommy gets up to go to the bathroom, by the time she goes back to bed, Spot is curled up on her pillow. Spot is so cute that Mommy can't bear to move her, so Mommy sleeps scrunched down at the bottom of the bed and ends up having a stiff neck the next morning.
Once when Mommy was away, Spot got so lonesome that she couldn't sleep. She got up in the middle of the night and threw up on Mommy's pillow. Daddy was really grossed out. Now Spot has to sleep with Joy or Elise if Mommy is away overnight.
Benji likes to sleep on the cool tile floor in the bathroom. He spreads himself out on his tummy like a furry rug.
When we cleaned out the linen closet, Benji curled up on the bottom shelf. He looked so happy that we had to find somewhere else to put the things that used to be stored there. The same thing happened in the pantry. Benji likes to sit in his little "caves."
During the day Spot stays indoors, but Benji likes to go "out to pasture" in the back yard. He sits in the back yard chewing on grass.
Spot can tell when the family is getting ready to go somewhere because everyone starts getting dressed and getting their things ready. When we go out, Benji has to come in and keep Spot company. Spot goes into her "sulking routine" to make sure everyone knows just how miserable she is feeling to be left behind.
Spot looks out the window as we leave, and she is still there when we come back home. Whether we've stepped out for five minutes or most of the day, she goes into her "greeting dance," jumping up and down and licking everyone's faces!
In the mean time, Benji is oblivious to everything. When we come home, he wags his tail happily, but has a blank look in his eyes, like, "Huh? What's everyone so happy about?"
We can't believe that anyone abandoned Spot and Benji at the Humane Society. We are assuming that someone was forced to give them up because they were moving and couldn't take them along, or maybe because of an allergy, or other unfortunate circumstance. We can't believe anyone could have given them up because they didn't want them anymore. Spot and Benji are the most wonderful dogs! (Yes, we know, everyone thinks that their own dogs are the best ones in the world!)
Even though we make fun of Benji about not being very bright, he is still the most friendly, lovable dog ever. He is the kind of dog that won't mind if young children pull his ears, step on his tail, or dress him up in cute clothes. He is so gentle, loving, and mellow.
Spot, of course, is CUTE! We love the way she rests her chin on our arms or legs and looks up at us with those adorable eyes when she wants attention. We are delighted when Spot says, "Wow-wow," if she wants a snack.
We're so glad that Spot and Benji are part of our family!
