My Ash & Mal

Two of the men in my life had a birthday this past weekend, and were able to take a moment out of their busy schedules of guarding the house and begging for cheerios to let me snap a picture for you. Aren’t they the considerate? To say that the first two years of having Ash & Mal in our care have been an adventure would be an understatement. It has been hilarious, trying, and wonderful- and bubbling over with fun.

When we first got them, they were the stars of the neighbourhood. They looked like little bear cubs with foxy faces, and people would come out of their houses to play with them. We got used to cars circling the block to get a second look, roll down their windows and ask us what they were. We built them a fenced in back yard, rubbed their tummies and told off people who offered to buy them from us on the street.

Their breed information was littered with phrases like “one of the most intense and curious of all breeds”, “mischevious and not to be trusted”, “hardy and loyal” and “extremely high energy” – but we were sure we could handle it. We watched a lot of Cesar Millan, after all.

Some highlights…

Schipperkes, they’re athletic! Mal is the main offender here, but as a little guy he found a way to jump straight from the ground to the top of the dining room table. He’s starting to grow out of this, but as a puppy I would often come home after work to find him curled up in a sunbeam on a pile of shredded mail.

Schipperkes, they’re literary! When they got bored in the winter, the boys took to pulling the books out of our bookcase and peeling their covers and binding off. We had to get doors for our bookcases and a treadmill for the dogs so they wouldn’t have so much energy to spare.

Schipperkes, they’re self sufficient! Ash has learned how to open drawers and where to bat at on the DVD player to make it open. His newest trick is to let himself into the basement, pull any laundry out of the dryer that is his (he leaves everything else, its creepy) and make a nest in it. He also loves the treadmill so much that he’ll hop on it and bark at us to let us know that he would like it turned on.

Their personalities are amazing. Ash is this larger than life, bold character who is always paying attention while Mal is our perma-puppy. Mal’s little ears never stood up, his coat still feels like puppy down, and all he wants to do is cuddle. Where Ash wants to investigate things and barge straight through to the next thing, Mal is shy at first and takes time to warm up to people. Ash is incredibly independent, and Mal is always tailing me wherever I go.

They are our funny little monsters, our shadows, and our boys. And now they are two.

I bet you that this is even the year when they start to grow some brains.