Snorp!

Snorp, Early 2007

Whoopy Snorp

The Snorp story begins long before I knew him. He was born in November the same year as Louie, 2006. His mother gave birth to him in a closet that Paul and his friend Neil dissected tapes and recorded sounds in. Snorp came into this world surrounded by cassette tapes, recording devices, wires and cords. Snorp's dog-mom didn't live there at Paul's house, she was just a pregnant dog that happen to go into labor while visiting a friends house and found the weirdest closet in history to give birth in. The puppies and their mother went home the twenty mile drive soon after. About eight weeks later, Paul went out to the old farm house to pick out a puppy. As for the choice of name? I think it's a reference to Paul's favorite band, if you want more details you'll have to ask him.

Meeting New Friends

The story of how Louie and I met Snorp I know a lot better than the story of the Snorp puppy. It was 2009, Paul and I had only gone on a couple of dates. I invited him over to bring his dog and play in our big yard. I had heard a lot about Snorp, but hadn't had the pleasure of meeting him yet. Paul pulled in to my driveway in a dusty old pickup with wood siding on the back, classy. The first thing I saw in the passenger seat what a pair of big old black ears sticking straight up. Louie started barking as soon as he heard the tires hit the gravel driveway.

I had butterfly's in my stomach.

So far, Paul and I had really hit it off. We had tons of stuff in common, he seemed responsible and he didn't scare me when he was driving. Paul appeared to be a very gentle and kind man, but more importantly, he was a big silly weirdo nerd (which was mandatory for me in considering a mate.) I knew that meeting his dog could change everything I had thought about him up until that point.

You can tell a lot about a person from the way they interact with their dog. Is the dog scared of the owner, does the owner yell at or hit the dog? Is the dog cowering and unable to socialize? Does the owner yell commands constantly with no response from the dog? Many things will help show the true colors of an individual, when we raise a puppy into a dog, they are a reflection of us as a person.

Snorp jumped out of the truck smiling, his tail wagging like crazy. After Snorp thoroughly marked his new territory careful not to miss anything, Louie and Snorp did the circle and sniff routine. Snorp quickly accepting Louie as a underling and Louie not minding at all to play that part.

Old man Poncho however, did not get along as well with Snorp. This was Poncho's house and Poncho's blind dog friend! (oh, yes. Poncho was there. Did I mention this was my parents house and yard? I had to move back in with them just a few months before? Did I leave that out earlier? hm.) Snorp found a stick and loved how easy it was to keep it away from Louie. Louie chased behind him bouncing and barking happily. Paul kept a close eye on Snorp, but let him play and be a dog. Even when there was a little grumpy stuff going on between Poncho and Snorp, we let them work it out and slowed them down if it started getting out of control. They all played in the yard until their tongues were hanging out of the sides of their mouths.

Social Butterfly

Louie loves to play with other dogs, sadly very often other dogs don't like to play with Louie. Dogs look to each others eyes to determine where they fit in, where they rank in this pack. Dogs seem to think Louie is staring them down at first, when in all reality he may not even know they're there. He's been attacked more than a couple of times in the past. I've seen dogs get low to the ground and slowly sneak up on him like wolves. Poncho was very protective of him, and Snorp was respectful to Poncho.

Snorp and Louie 2012

I will say, that I wasn't totally sold on this whole 'Paul's my boyfriend' deal until I met his dog. Whoopy Snorp stole my heart, and Paul and Snorp came as a package deal.

Cohabitation

I've been living with Snorp for about three years now and it has been great. We've all grown together as a family. Snorp is much more snuggley then he was when I first met him. He trusts me to lean on him and hug him now. Something I take for granted with Louie is how tolerant he is. He knows no such thing of personal space, or staying out of someones personal bubble. This bothered Snorp at first but he slowly got over Louie constantly bumping into him. Snorp just learned to get out of the way. It didn't take long for him to realize there was a lot more going on with Louie than just being a dog.

Paul and I married in August of 2011 making Snorp officially my step-pup and Louie, Paul's. More importantly, Louie and Snorp were now step dog-brothers. Over time Snorp has learned how to help Louie, he intercepts other dogs if they're sneak attacking Louie and always watches his back. Well, and front too I suppose. He has also learned how to take advantage of Lou. He knows he can quietly sneak up when Louie is 'looking' for his ball and gently take the ball from just inches away from Louie without being detected. Yeah, I know. What a jerk, right? He makes up for it when Louie is crying to lay down on whatever dog bed Snorp is in. Snorp will usually let Louie have it and go sleep on the floor like the real dog that he is.

Snorp sadly admits the obvious. Yes, he was digging in the yard.

We always say that we have one 'real dog' and one 'pet' in our family.

Snorp chews on sticks, watches the squirrels out the window, chases cats that he spots a mile away, and digs holes to bury bones. That's 'real dog' stuff. Like a cartoon dog or something. Getting into mischief, chasing cats, eating out of the garbage when no one is looking, being sneaky in a harmless and mischievous way.

Then there is the 'pet' Louie. He moves around slowly. Follows you everywhere you go. He sleeps a ton, and somehow seems to weigh a ton when he sleeps. Usually sleeping for him means touching someone, be that a cat, dog, person, or other warm living thing he knows. He wants to be pet, to sit in your lap (but I wouldn't suggest it, he weighs over 100lbs) sleep under the covers on your bed with his head on your pillow nose to nose with you. I love it. The best of both worlds. Add a couple of cats and a kitten, a few chickens and two cute little piggies and a couple of hilarious humans and I call that heaven.

I love my family.