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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Monday Morning Open Thread: Butterbean

Monday Morning Open Thread: Butterbean

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butterbean chihuahua cp

From commentor CP:

In the wake of John’s loss, I thought I’d share a real difference he’s made in my life and the life of one sweet little doggie. For a number of reasons, I’d been thinking about getting a dog, but probably chief among those reasons was John’s steady stream of posts about how much he loves his pets. What I had in mind was sort of a mid-sized mutt, but when I went to the Save-A-Life table at PetSmart one Saturday, it was this little chihuahua that came over, climbed in my lap, and curled up there like she owned the place. While I talked to the people about what would be involved in an adoption, and all the other dogs acted silly and hyper, she just sat there quietly and let me pet her. By the time all my questions had been answered, this meek, gentle creature had overcome all my prejudices against the breed (i.e. yappy, nippy, trembly, spoiled, etc.) and stolen my heart.

I’ve been her “forever daddy” ever since (about 9 months now), and she’s the best thing in my life. Her name is Butterbean, but she’s so affectionate, I often call her Snugglebean. Chihuahuas aren’t exactly known for walking on a leash, but she’s great at it, and loves long walks, especially in cool weather. We live in downtown Savannah, so around Halloween and Christmas I had the best time walking all over with her and checking out the decorations on all these gorgeous old houses. I mostly get around by bike, so as a practical matter, I got a backpack specially designed as a dog carrier. Well, after a few rides in it while I ran errands, she now insists on a ride EVERY morning. That’s okay–I love to see her happy dance whenever I reach for the backpack. Once we’re on the road, she sits in it so calmly and just snoofles the air rushing by.

John, you have my deepest condolences for Tunch, but also my deepest thanks for inspiring me to bring this sweet, adorable dog into my life.

***********

What’s on the agenda for the start of another week?

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  1. 1.

    JordanRules

    {{Butterbean}} What a great testimony to start the week. I always love these ‘fits like a glove’ new pet stories…mutually beneficial and creates more waves of inspiration.

  2. 2.

    raven

    What as sweetie! We love to visit Savannah especially because it is so dog friendly. Start with breakfast at J. Christopher’s where they have nice water bowls for the pups. The only store downtown that we couldn’t take the dog into was the Goodwill! We even found a trolley tour that let us take them.

  3. 3.

    geg6

    Awwwww, what a sweet story. I never liked chihuahuas, but my John’s daughter has one, Lulu, who is a total sweetie. Not too barky or nippy and very affectionate. Not annoying like so many of them are. Koda is totally fascinated by her (look! It’s a toy that moves in its own!). Otis just ignores her, which means Lulu wants to be with him all the time. But we have to keep her away from him because he has such balance issues that we’re terrified he’ll fall on her and crush her. A hundred pound dog falling on a seven or eight pound pup won’t turn out well.

  4. 4.

    Linda Featheringill

    What a lovely story to start the week with!

    The world is a hard place to live in, what with all the humans and all, but love stories can make it all worthwhile.

  6. 6.

    Patricia Kayden

    Lovely story, CP. While I’m not into smaller dogs, Butterbean is a cutie and sounds like she’s a joy to be around. Nice to see that this blog is encouraging rescues of abandoned animals.

  7. 7.

    Rosalita

    @Linda Featheringill:

    The world is a hard place to live in, what with all the humans and all, but love stories can make it all worthwhile.

    This!

    So good to read such great story on a Monday morning.

  11. 11.

    Linda Featheringill

    @EriktheRed:

    CNBC is cute. They aren’t very subtle, even when they’re being intelligent, which certainly isn’t all the time.

  12. 12.

    geg6

    @Linda Featheringill:

    Yes, poor guy. He was abused and abandoned. Don’t understand how anyone could do that to such a beautiful and sweet dog. But he’s well loved and well taken care of now!

  13. 13.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @JPL: That pup is saying, I am the master, behave or else.

    FTFY, I know that look all too well.

  15. 15.

    daize

    She’s so sweet. What a lovely story and a great way to start the week. I now have a great visual of Butterbean in her special bike backpack snoofle-ing the air.

  16. 16.

    Elizabelle

    Butterbean is adorable. I even like her name.

    Got to respect your fellow cycling enthusiasts.

    Good morning all.

  17. 17.

    Nicole

    Awesome story. I’m not usually a big fan of chihuahuas but she sounds like she is a real gem of a pooch. The mental image of her dancing around at the sight of your backpack is going to make me giggle all day.

  20. 20.

    BlueDWarrior

    I’m getting extremely frustrated by yet more calls to gentrify a city of mostly blacks (see New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit).

    Have we degraded so far in our understanding of poverty to where we simply do not recognize that poor people are people.

    I honestly expect by 2020 we will be arguing that anyone making under 25K should by marched into the nearest large body of water to be drowned. You know, so they will be less of a burden on the middle class.

  21. 21.

    JPL

    My tomato plants have dozens of fruit but they don’t appear to be ripening. Last evening I saw the plants shaking and went to investigate. The darn squirrels, are taking the ripe ones. My next rescue is going to be a squirrel hunter.

  22. 22.

    Joey Maloney

    Very high on the list of things about which I have no spare fucks to give, the Duchess of Cambridge is in labor. It’s depressing to see the BBC, normally a refreshingly competent news organization, devolve instantly to dribbling fanboys when someone emerges from a royal birth canal.

  23. 23.

    MomSense

    Awww, such a nice story to start a Monday. Butterbean is an adorable name for an adorable dog and “snoofles” is going into the rotation immediately. That is a perfect word to describe what our dog does riding in the car.

  24. 24.

    Valdivia

    @Elizabelle:

    just wanted to let you know I am trying to make it to the movie tonight–don’t know if anyone else is coming or not. I had a bit of a family medical issue this weekend so it might be hard to get there.

  26. 26.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @BlueDWarrior:

    I honestly expect by 2020 we will be arguing that anyone making under 25K should by marched into the nearest large body of water to be drowned.

    Oh, we can’t do that. Who’s going to mow our grass? Pick up the trash? Clean our toilets? Slaughter our chickens? Ad nauseum…

  28. 28.

    Betty Cracker

    Now I’ve got that B-52s song (“Butterbean! Butterbean!”) stuck in my head. What a great story, though. I love how she’s got her paws crossed in the photo above, the very picture of a calm, rational Savannah lady.

  29. 29.

    stinger

    Darn those PetSmart/adoption partnerships! Nearly 5 years ago I went into the store for a dog brush and came out with a cat! I actually had to make a second trip just to get the brush. (Luckily that wasn’t an adoption day too.)

    Butterbean is adorable and I love the backpack image!

  31. 31.

    Shakezula

    What big ears you have!
    All the better to hear you say it is time for a treat.
    What big eyes you have!
    All the better to see you going to get me a treat.

    My first order of the day is sniffling over this sweet story.

    @JPL: Is it dry in your area? I’ve noticed squirrels (and birds) leave the tomatoes alone unless water is in short supply. I suspect rats also get after them. I have left a pan of water out and it seems to help. Also consider covering the plants with bird netting to discourage poachers of all species.

  32. 32.

    Another Halocene Human

    http://wonkette.com/523233/why-did-black-tv-pundit-best-selling-author-and-former-white-house-aide-keith-boykin-steal-that-white-ladys-phone

    OHMYGOD. Somebody kindly posted this link earlier but I decided to mosey over to My Wonkets on my own time and see what was up.

    Some clueless bint thought Keith Boykin–KEITH BOYKIN–author of “One More River To Cross” stole her phone?!?

    I could see a female asking to search his pockets because he’s ADORABLE also GAY so that would be the only way to ever get a chance to cop a feel, but I think her approach had some flaws.

    No, seriously, I’m more aghast than pissed off, I guess? And I feel even more of a shit for joking about stealing a phone with a Black coworker… I mean, needless to say the “joke” fell flat and I felt stupid and ashamed… but now I see an even bigger context. I mean, me and my coworkers did get accused of stealing people’s jacked up raggedy shit by paranoid people all the time, but you’d think…

    You’d think wrong.

    WELL I MET KEITH BOYKIN AND ASKED HIM TO SIGN A COPY OF BEYOND THE DOWN LOW. I think I freaked him the fuck out with my mania and kind of regret that, though if I met him again I’d probably be insanely manic again BECAUSE DUDE, KEITH BOYKIN.

    srsly, wasn’t even that manic when I met Bill Nye

  35. 35.

    Valdivia

    @Elizabelle:

    I will post here with an update. My mom is with some kind of stomach flu and I have no idea how things will develop. Once they get to be a certain age even what seems minor can turn nasty fast.

    ETA: if I don’t make it tonight maybe we can choose another movie and go see it another day :)

  36. 36.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    Butterbean! Great story, great name and very cute dog. Thanks.

  38. 38.

    TaMara (BHF)

    Great, great story. thanks for sharing. You and Butterbean are so lucky. I’m a big dog girl myself, but my next door neighbors have the cutest Chihuahua that sneaks over to hang at my house. She loves to nap on the couch with me. Love that dog.

    I think we need photos of you guys riding.

  39. 39.

    greennotGreen

    I thought I wasn’t into small dogs either…till I got one. Now I have eight (ten dogs total.) This is a danger when one fosters for rescue.

    Chihuahuas are a bit of a special case. Being so tiny, they make their way in the world with either a “Don’t mess with me, I will bite you!” attitude, or “I love you so much! Hold me, pet me! Did I tell you I love you?” The problem with a lot of them is attitude #1 works, so they never try the second one, and they’re either miserable little beasts who stay with their owners or they’re miserable little beasts who end up in rescue. You have to show them that acting ugly is going to get them nowhere, then they try approach #2, and you have an adorable companion who thinks you’re just the greatest creature on the planet. Of course, it’s awfully hard to surrender an adorable companion who thinks I’m just the greatest creature on the planet which is part of how I ended up with ten dogs.

  40. 40.

    Comrade Mary

    @Joey Maloney: What I found out today: The Guardian’s site has a “Republican?” link at the top right that promises to turn off “most” of the royal news, although I think it’s done a spotless job.

    If you really want to read about the sprog, you can click the “Royalist?” link.

    I wish the CBC radio stations had a similar feature :-(

  41. 41.

    Amir Khalid

    So I looked at Salon’s front page and saw a story on the growing connection between American right-wing news/info sites and snake-oil peddling — quack medicines, get-rich-quick schemes, and the like.

    The photo with the story is of Glenn Beck, mentioned as one of the egregious offenders. Curiously, Glenn’s head and shoulders are ‘shopped onto a background of Malaysian’s new series 50-cent and 20-cent coins, from a stock photo issued by the central bank. Malaysia isn’t even mentioned in the story. So you guys, if you’re curious to see what our coins look like, you can always check out that picture — while ignoring the chubby Mat Saleh, of course.

  42. 42.

    Elizabelle

    @Valdivia:

    Sounds like a plan. Shall check in; we can see how your mom’s doing by late afternoon.

    Definitely up for another outing if tonight does not work out.

    Best to your mom.

  44. 44.

    MattF

    No linkee, but war-criminal apologist Theissen has a quite amazing item at the WaPo on VA Gov. McDonnell. Theissen’s (not invalid) point is that McDonnell should have waited a few months, and then could have cashed in big time. And not doing so demonstrates a degree of bad judgement that disqualifies McDonnell from higher office. Jeezy-peezy.

  45. 45.

    SuperHrefna

    Ooh, Butterbean is adorable. Thanks for sharing the story, just the idea of his happy dance makes me smile.

  46. 46.

    RoonieRoo

    That is a beautiful story. Thank you so much for sharing that. What a fantastic first read for my morning on Balloon-Juice.

  48. 48.

    Amir Khalid

    @Joey Maloney:
    They’re the British Broadcasting Corp. The birth of a great-grandchild to the Queen (and likely future heir to her throne) is a legitimate matter of national interest to Britons, and citizens of Commonwealth countries that still recognise the British monarch as head of state. And, of course, to millions the world over who see British royals as a classier troupe of professional celebrities than the Kardashians will ever learn to be.

  49. 49.

    Kristine

    What a sweetie–thanks for a great story to start the week.

    We had a long-haired chihuahua when I was a kid. Tiger was black/tan, and a great watchdog. He also used to jump on the couch at night and curl up near my Mom’s feet. She called him her little foot warmer. Not yappy at all. A sweet boy.

  50. 50.

    wonkie

    What a sweet story! I’m so glad that you and Butterbean found each other!

    I never thought I’d like a small dog until I got my Izzy, a maltese. He’s a classic obnoxious small dog, even tot he ankle biting (but has no teeth), but he’s my ankle-biter and I love him.

    Loving Izzy has made me more tolerant of and more affectionate toward other small dogs.

    Buttebean is a lucky little girl.

  51. 51.

    Mnemosyne

    If you ever get tired of the backpack (and if your bike is suitable), Basil makes some really nice pet baskets that fit on either the front handlebars or your back rack. They’re a Dutch company, but I’ve bought a fair number of their bags (ahem) through Niagara Cycle Works in New York — good prices and very reasonable shipping to be sent to California.

  54. 54.

    hedgehog the occasional commenter

    @jeffreyw: PUPPEH!!!
    And yay Butterbean! Wonderful story to start the week (and hoping this week is way better than last…)

  55. 55.

    Jebediah

    Very dignified pose for the camera! Count me in as one more big-dog person who ended up with a little dog. In his prime, Otto was 100 lbs. – when we brought Juno home, she was 7 1/2 pounds. Very affectionate, loving companion – to us and Otto (and now Chucky.)
    And count me in as one more person grateful for such a sweet story on a Monday morning. What a cutey pie!

  57. 57.

    Princess Leia

    She is super adorable and clearly has trained you well!!! I see you used the John Cole selection method to good results. I also decided to adopt a dog after reading pet stories here. I wonder how many of us there are? Thanks for the great story– hope to see more of them.

  58. 58.

    Valdivia

    @Elizabelle:

    Thank you. Not looking like this evening will work, but if she has a miraculous turn around I will let you know. But let’s make a plan for something else–I will check in on this thread so we can do that. :)

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