Wiener Dog in the House

This is Riley.


The word you're looking for is "d'aaaawww."

Riley is our houseguest for a couple of days. His mom has been in the hospital, so Riley is being taken in by friends on rotation while she recuperates. It's our turn right now, which is OK, because we all adore this little daschshund. He's wiggly and snuggly and smells like cinnamon. He's a life-size flan. Who wouldn't love one of those?
Darling Dog enjoys having a live-in playmate. They play tug-of-war and that other all-time favorite dog game, I Hump You, You Hump Me. They're both males, but we know for a fact that DDog is gay. Riley may just be experimenting. Going abroad will open you up to all sorts of new experiences.

Anyway, Riley, despite weighing maybe 10 pounds soaking wet, can be a bit of a bully. He likes to herd and sniff and growl and all those canine psychological war tactics. DDog lets him get away with it on the grounds that DDog is four times his size and in a pinch could use Riley as a rawhide chew toy.

The Siamese kitten, however, is another story. They're roughly the same size, which I think has lulled Riley into an exceedingly false sense of security vis a vis his ability to dominate the relationship. He moves in to lay some smack on the kitten, and she responds with much hissing and puffing of tail. Most of the time it ends there. Occasionally there's a blood-curdling yowl and a yipeyipeyipe, after which Riley retreats between my legs and the Siamese kitten glares at him until her tail returns to normal size. I haven't actually seen blood, so I'm going to pretend they're great interspecies friends engaging in spirited dialogue about current events. Like Republicans and Democrats, with slightly less desire to destroy each other.

Don't worry, Riley's mom. He's doing great. You take care of yourself until you feel you can take care of him, and then we'll bring him back. He may not smell like cinnamon any more. The last time I looked, DDog was nibbling his ear. I hope you like Eau de Drool.