We have a dog, and his name is Lattè. He is the definition of the word Special and to say that he has quirks is a vast understatement.

Lattè’s quirks became known to us soon after we brought him home. He developed a fascination with tissues which then progressed to an obsession where he sneaks into rooms and seeks out the tissue box and then eats said tissues whole. I always get the image of Buddy the Elf eating cotton balls when I think of Lattè and his tissue habit.

The following include but are not limited to the other quirks that Lattè displays:

• he is territorial about a dirt mound in our backyard, he will often go out and sit on the mound of dirt and stare at us
• he is afraid of anything new that comes into the house including our gym ball, the baby rocker and Sophie if she is crying
• he has doggie dwarfism, yes you heard me correct, my dog suffers from achondroplasia. His front legs are shorter than his back ones and he stands on a permanent lean
• growling at us for no apparent reason
• Licking the carpet
• Trying to swallow objects whole

It’s been 10 weeks & still he doesn’t understand that Sophie can’t throw him the ball

perplexed by the tiny human

sprung.. he’d been poking around in Sophie’s room

The newest quirk we have noticed is his stealth approach to stealing food. A few months ago he figured out how to get on to the dining room table. There have only been two dinner disasters to date, but I’m quite concerned about the future when Sophie is eating solids.

This week I had some concerns regarding my milk supply, so I purchased some lactation cookies. I have to admit they have a rather strong taste due to the magic ingredient: Brewers yeast, so I made myself a cup of coffee to wash them down with. Just as I sat down to eat I heard Sophie stir on the baby monitor so I went to the other end of the house to settle her. I returned to find that my darling dog had demolished my cookie collection.

It was a fun little phone call to the vet when I called to find out if there would be any adverse effects to Lattè following his binge. I have been assured that it’s a real fluke that he’s not a female dog because otherwise we might have had an issue. My vet found the whole thing quite amusing and asked if I would mind him telling his colleagues because in his 20 years of practicing, that was a new one.

I’m not quite sure why we were chosen to be Lattè’s owners, sometimes I think it’s because no one else could love him like we do. He also brings us a great deal of joy and entertainment.

Have you got a quirky dog? What amusing traits do they display?

Sasha Fierce