It's a Boy!

Last weekend Ryan and I hopped a city bus out of neighboring Kazanluk in search of one of the myriad sunflower fields that abound mid-summer throughout Bulgaria. It was something I’ve been waiting to do since I’ve arrived. In fact, I think one of the very first questions I asked after I got here was “When can we see sunflowers?” (Note: I believe “When is cherry season?” was next. Cherries are possibly my favorite fruit and much like the sunflowers, they are everywhere right now. Yum!)

Our journey turned out to be a most profitable one, as it involved cherries...

...roosters... (which, by the way, I also just love)

...AND the much sought-after sunflowers!

Some of these flowers are seriously taller than me and the view of row upon row of gold framed by mountains and a blue sky was absolutely incredible.

After getting our fill of sunflowers and exhausting my camera’s battery, doubting we could catch a bus we decided to walk the 5 or so miles back to Kazanluk. Just about a mile out of town, we heard a puppy’s cries coming from underneath a dumpster. Anyone who knows me understands that at this point there was only one thing for me to do, namely belly crawl underneath the damn thing to find a tiny black and white ball of fluff… indeed, a puppy, perhaps 12 – 14 days old. The second I picked him up, he stopped crying and nuzzled into my arms. Ryan looked at me and said “He’s not coming home with us, babe.” I pleaded a bit with my eyes, and pointed out there appeared to be no mother. After looking around and finding nary a mom in sight, plus no human running up to claim the pup, Ryan heaved a big sigh and said “He’s coming home with us, isn’t he?”

Yup.

And for the record, Ryan couldn't have left him behind any more than I could have.

We’ve named him Luke. (From the last part of Kazanluk… aren’t we creative?) Incidentally “luk” means “onion” here in Bulgaria, so when people ask his name it gets a bit of a laugh. Now this is funny to me for a different reason. Bear with me while I share a back story.

When Ryan and I first starting dating, I was driving to work one morning and saw a dog on the side of the road in a parking lot. I pulled over, hoping to find identification on him, but worried that by stopping I might send him running into traffic. Fortunately the dog proved to be exceedingly friendly and bounded eagerly over to me when I called. He then jumped past me into my car and sat down obediently in the passenger seat, all "C'mon lady! Aren't we gonna go somewhere already?" As it turned out there was a collar... but no tags, so I took him to work with me for the day, giving him food and water, and made the effort to find his owner by calling around to local vets and the Humane Society. At the end of the day, the search had proved fruitless and I would gladly have adopted him… but there was a small glitch in that plan. My roommate Laura was terrified of dogs. As there was no way I could bring him home without first searching for a new place to live myself, I boarded him at a veterinary clinic for a few days, paying for shots, a bath and a heartworm test.

Sadly, the dog was heartworm positive. Also complicating things was the fact he was a pit bull, but sometimes these dogs get a bad rap and this one was an absolute sweetheart, causing all of the vet technicians to rhapsodize over what a great big affectionate baby he was. Because of the dog’s health condition, I couldn’t take him to Animal Control as they would euthanize him, and I was fearful of advertising him publicly since some people obviously buy these dogs with the plan of using them to fight. So after about a week of fretting, with the help of a kindly teacher in the Osceola County School District I found him a nice home with one of her students.

Aaannnyyywayyyy long story short - I named that dog… Bo.

Despite evidence to the contrary, I am NOT a member of the Dukes of Hazard fan club. Never even watched an episode. No really. I swear. We were totally a Muppets, Cosby Show and Family Ties family. I don't think I even knew who Boss Hog was until, like, the tenth grade.

But I digress.

Anyway, Luke is a very sweet puppy and is just starting to get his baby teeth, as well as learning how to walk and give kisses.

He loves to eat puppy formula from his bottle…

...but will also suck frantically on your finger, kneading your hand with his little front paws.

He likes to crawl under things, especially places that are particularly dusty… and believe me, there are a lot of those in Ryan's apartment.

He toddles around, sometimes toppling over as he gradually gains his balance. Ryan made him a three-room puppy condo out of cardboard boxes, featuring a bedroom, bathroom and playroom, but after the first day or two he decided he much prefers a T-shirt and the floor, thank you very much.

This morning he decided to test out his brand new puppy-bark to wake us up, and when I raised my head to look at him giving a sleepy “Hi buddy,”, he wriggled all over in delight. "She’sawakesshe’sawakeohboyohboyitworkeditworkedtimetoeat!" And this afternoon he learned how to tackle his stuffed cow.

He also likes to sleep.

A lot.

We are very attached.

We cannot keep him.

But we think we have found a very nice mommy for him and with any luck she will take Luke to his new home next week.

I am going to do my best not to cry.

***Post Script: It just occurred to me that I am so lucky I met Ryan when I did. This post just rather alarmingly proved that if not for him a few years from now I totally would have had 16 cats and dogs with wallet sized photos of each. "Oh look, and here is Petunia sleeping, by the window. She's on the window sill! Do you see that? A dog on the window sill! Oh, and here is sweet little Mr. Mistoffelees playing with his toy mouse. Doesn't that just make your heart melt! Oh and this... this is Mungojerry using the toilet instead of a litter box...he is such a smart little kitty and... wait... where are you going? I haven't told you about Rumpleteaser and Fluffy and George and Fido and..."