Look At That Face!

Seriously, just look at that face!

 Have you ever seen anything so sweet and innocent in your whole life?

Meet Maximus Auerlius, Max for short.
Back in 2003,
when Mr. B & I purchased our home,
the ink wasn't even dry
at the closing
when Mr. B started hounding me (pun intended)
about getting a dog.
He grew up on a farm back in Saskatchewan
and only had farm dogs,
not house dogs.

I grew up in the city and
grew up with dogs and cats.
I knew the responsibility
a pet brings with it.
My sons were grown and gone.
I didn't want responsibility.

I resisted.
He was persistent.
He relentlessly sent me photos and you tubes
of cute little puppies.

He wore me down.
I agreed but only if it were a small dog.
It would be his dog.
Mr. B has given me so much,
I could give him this.

 The weekend after Thanksgiving 2003
Mr. B was in his office upstairs
perusing the photos at the local animal shelter
on his computer
when he shouted for me to come see.
I took one look and
told him that we could go look
at the dog in the photo.

We were there just as the shelter opened.
We asked to see "Eli", the name given to him at the shelter.
He is a Jack Russel Terrier and was thought to be about two years old
and house broken.
We sat in a little room with a glass door, waiting.
Then, this face peeked around the corner.
At that point, all was lost.
We played with him a bit, maybe 5 minutes,
and I knew I was not leaving without him!

He fit right in with us.
He is our little clown.
Oh yes, he became my dog.

He lays on my lap in the evening
clutching his ballballball all wrapped up in
the blankie from Auntie Ms K.

Until he falls asleep.

 Not a care in the world.
Dreaming of, someday,
catching a squirrel.
(We are very much squirrel free thanks to Max's diligence!)

Now, Mr. Max, like Mr. B,
is not perfect.
He seems to have a love hate
relationship with his bed
kept under the little table
in the the corner of the dining room.
Many a time we have come home from work and
found his bed pulled out
and placed near the kitchen.
One day, not long ago,  Mr. B came home and sent me
this photo

I believe something along the
lines of this logic happened

(Source)
It seems...Max's bed...umm...had exploded.
Along with the rug that is normally
in front of the front door.
There was bed stuffing all over!
Max 1 Bed 0

I knew if we bought him another bed
the same sight would likely greet us again someday.

Now, to be clear, I don't sew.
I totally missed out on that gene!
I have made a few pillows but
sweated nervously the whole time.

But, I pulled up my big girl pants
and gave it the old college try.

I had a pile of upholstery fabric
that I had purchased awhile back
thinking someday I would
use it to recover a chair.
I figured it would be strong enough
to withstand the great squirrel hunter.


I took real rough measurements of what
was left of Max's bed.
I decided to do more
of a sham or envelope
type of cover,
just in case it didn't last.
I only needed to sew the two sides.

I was so upset I didn't take pictures of my "work"
in progress.
Here is the finished project.

I just put his old bed
into the cover, loose stuffing and all.

He loves it!
He still pulls it out from under the table
but, he has not even attempted to tear it up!
Bonus, I can take the cover off and wash it!

 Of course, when we are home,
after a rousing game of
throwing the ballballball,
he will sometimes just fall asleep
wherever he lies.

But when there is a thunderstorm
or he needs some alone time,
he has a comfy bed 
to rest his head and feel safe.

He is and always will be my sweet little puppeh!
I love him to pieces ♥
I mean c'mon, just look at that face!