101 Dalmatians...and Gus

This is Gus.

Gus is a two year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the pride and joy of Younger Son and his B'shert. That makes Gus my grandpuppy and the apple of this Bubby's eye. (Yes, that is is my Sunday morning self on whom Gus has obligingly draped himself over.) In my mind, this dog can do absolutely no wrong and frankly every single thing that he does is either adorable, massively cute, or just plain brilliant. I mean, really. Would a son of mine have a stupid dog? It isn't even remotely possible.

Gus is very much at home here. When he comes for a visit he immediately races into the family room in search of greetings and hugs from his doting grandparents. And I do mean hugs. He actually throws his front paws around my neck and snuggles against my cheek until I reciprocate his canine embrace. He is sweet and he is smart. He never barks, even when the doorbell rings, and his only fault seems to be that he likes to cuddle a little too much and a little too often. Only the worst of humanity wouldn't be enamoured by a dog like this one. 

Because he is so very comfortable here, Gus will often come to spend several hours at a time with us when his people find that they can't get home to feed or walk him. Last night, was a red letter day in Gus' short life as we celebrated his first sleepover with Bubby and Zaidy.

I had stuff planned for the little guy. We would play games and chat. Maybe we'd go for a walk in the November chill. But in truth, Gus isn't really all that active. He likes to loll around and sleep. He eats daintily and cautiously begs for a bit of my meals. Occasionally he will remind me of his natural needs and nudges me ever so gently to take him outside. (He really is a Stepford dog.)

But what Gus seems to love most of all, is to watch television. And he is fussy. It can't be just any programming. It has to be shows or commercials that feature dogs. He goes nuts for them. He is extremely partial to the new Target Christmas commercial with the bulldog running across the screen. He already knows the music and races to the front of the TV every single time it airs. Now, I have had dogs for the better part of my life, but I have never before witnessed any of those animals so fully engrossed in television. It is truly a spectacle to behold. I never even knew that dogs could process the two-dimensional images so fully and so completely as Gus seems to. 

The Husband and I decided that since Gus was going to be spending a prolonged period of time here yesterday, we would download something from Netflix for him to enjoy. And what better film for him to delight in than 101 Dalmatians. In truth, I was very interested to see how he would react to both the constant barrage of puppies scurrying across the screen and to Glenn Close's masterful portrayal of Cruella De Vil. I had planned on engaging him in a very intellectual dissection of the movie following its airing, but Gus was having none of it.

Check it out for yourself.

He couldn't have cared less about the humans. If the dogs were on, he was fully engaged. If Cruella was around, he retreated to his chair (yes he has claimed a chair) and waited patiently until the next puppy sequence. He pretty much watched the entire film this way. Since he refused my invitation to a post-mortem, my guess is that he rated it four paws up.

I have been pining for a dog ever since we lost our beloved and strangely goofy yellow lab almost ten years ago. And while I would excitedly and immediately run to the shelter if The Husband would ever relent, Gus is, for now, the perfect compromise. He comes, he visits, he snuggles, he watches TV, and then he goes home to his people. What more could a grandparent ask for?