A New Addition…

There’s a new addition to the family.

 

No, it’s not a new book (not yet, anyway. Shadow of the Dragod’s official release is Nov 7th! Coming soon!) It’s a terrible, horrendous, vicious beast of the frigid North!

Meet Casco, my desk familiar, magical companion, foot warmer, and destroyer-of-my-things. Named after a town in Maine my family has spent my entire 40 years of life going to over the Summer, we brought home this fluffy wonder a couple weeks ago, and my oh my, it’s been something.

 

I grew up with a dog. Got a yellow labrador puppy when I was around 8. I don’t remember much about trying to train him or him being overly nippy (probably b/c my parents did most of the wrangling), only that he ended up being the best boy. 

 

So when we got Casco two weeks ago, I was  ill-prepared for the thunder this wild beast would bring into the household. Nipping, chewing on anything that’s not his toys, humping anything with a leg (tables and chair included), and even catching a mouse.

 

Yes, he might be part cat. 

 

I walked him outside and he pounced on what I thought was a mushroom, but as I went to pull it out of his mouth it turned out to be a still-living mouse. Thankfully the thing shook loose and scampered away unscathed, unknowingly saving its kind from years of horrific fury of a beast that had gained a taste for mouse blood… 

 

Rodent hunting isn’t all. He has plenty of other “talents” too. Finding new things to chew on every second, saturing perfectly nice carpets in pee, and waking up at the bum-crack of dawn to start the day with righteous fury.

 

All this is to say, it’s been a lot more than I remembered about puppy-raising or expected.  

 

But it’s been worth it. 

 

The pats, the snuggles, the rambunctious games, the hilarious look he gives me when I make a weird whistle, the way he plays with my boys, the way he stays so close to my heels when he’s in a new place… I already love the shit out him.

 

And that’s only after 2 weeks! I know after 10 years he’ll be such a part of our lives that I can’t imagine going anywhere without him. 

 

All the training and headaches he’s causing now will just be a tiny blip on a life of companionship that I can’t wait to have with him.  

 

So while It’s been a bit hectic in Elsewhere these days, and trying to win the ever-present battle of keeping my shoe out of his mouth has taken over a lot of my writing and drawing time, I know it’s only the beginning of a lifetime of love.

 

The biting will stop. He’ll learn what are his toys and what aren’t, and all will be good in the woods.

 

Next time, I’ll have more writing and art updates.  Maybe some more pics of the fluffernutter himself.

 

But for now, I gotta go. I think I just heard Casco trying to eat a whole door. 

 

Stay slobbering, Fellow Creatures!

 

-Jeff