Posted on: Tuesday, February 15, 2005

ABOUT WOMEN
Puppy brings out the need to nurture

By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Staff Writer

I was feeling the need to nurture, and the kids were showing signs of outgrowing their mommy. Although back scratches were still in high demand, they had begun bristling at my attempts at public affection, and snuggling together on the couch was past the point of appropriateness.

For some time I had been toying with the idea of getting a pocket pooch I could carry around with me and talk to in that cootchy-cootchy-coo voice normally reserved for infants, but I wasn't ready to commit.

We already had a dog and a cat, and had been through Jackson's chameleons and just unloaded two turtles my son volunteered to adopt from his teacher. Our mistake was going to see the puppies after my husband spotted the newspaper ad.

"Oh, let's just look." Yeah, right. And you can eat just one Lay's potato chip.

Even with eight other puppies tumbling around in the yard, it was love at first sight. So Kiki, a part Shih Tzu fuzzball who fit in the palm of one hand, came home with us. She's a real cutie.

But babies are babies, no matter what their species.

For weeks, my husband and I would exchange elbow nudges in the middle of the night until one of us crawled out of bed to take the puppy out. We rarely left the house together because someone had to be home at all times for "the baby." When we reached the point where we felt comfortable leaving Kiki alone for short periods, we would turn the TV to "Animal Planet" so she would have a human voice in the house and maybe get inspired by tales of canine heroism and devotion.

And there was the trouble and expense of visits to the vet for her baby shots, finding just the right puppy food for her finicky tastes, and all the adorable toys and accessories — a carrying case, doggie shampoo and conditioner, chew bones, matching collar and leash, brush, nail clippers and hair bows.

Let us not forget the constant cleaning up of poop and piddle. The only thing missing was Pampers and diaper wipes.

What were we thinking?

But our exhaustion and irritation were no match for her enthusiastic greetings and wet puppy kisses and, yes, the chance to nuzzle our little one and call her baby names like Keekers and Kikscicle.

What surprised me the most was my husband's reaction to having a puppy in the house. From the start, he showered Kiki with affection, giving her baths almost daily, and when I called home, he would put the puppy on the phone and insist I talk to her.

He began referring to Kiki as "my girl," bypassing our teenage daughter. I began to worry a bit when I caught a whiff of my pricey perfume on the puppy after her bath.

Turns out mothers aren't the only ones with strong maternal urges.

Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.