90. Wherein Piro gets Adopted

Seni bought a puppy and he named him Piro.  

For the first three weeks of their relationship, Piro and Seni were inseperable.  Piro would follow Seni around the yard and crawl into his lap, nipping at his fingers and nuzzling into his shirt. Seni would call for Piro, and Piro would come running.  It was clear that Piro loved his Seni, and that Seni loved his Piro.  They were the best of forever-friends.

Seni and his Piro

Then, Seni got another puppy.  This second puppy, Little Onion, was all-around more lovable than our poor, befuddled Piro.  While Piro was awkward and overeager, Little Onion was sweet, fluffy, and docile.  Piro was a rascal.  Little Onion was a teddy bear.  

And so it was that Piro, a scrawny little red-headed thing with a plethora of wrinkles, was cast aside and forgotten.  

Seni and his Little Onion

Eventually, Piro found his way to us.  He adopted us, so to speak, and began to follow us everywhere.  He guarded our house with fervor and began to greet us with wild and helpless spasms of joy.  The frantic beating of his tail paired with the left-right step-step of his two front paws seemed to say, "I'm your dog, I'm your dog, I'm your VERY GOOD dog!"

Cautiously at first, Dan and I gave in.  We started letting Piro sit on the veranda, and we gave him some attention.  To an abandoned puppy with so much love to give, such a treat was overwhelming.  He reacted to scratches and pets with rampant exultation: whining, nuzzling, pawing, and gnawing.  His reactions were so needy that it was hard not to feel a growing, grudging fondness for the dog.

Eventually, we let him in the house.  From then on, without fail, as soon as we opened our door in the morning, he would get tangled up in all of our power cords and trip over himself in an effort to lie on our feet.  He was the most annoying and spastic dog that we'd ever met, but also the most endearing.

And it was thus that Piro wormed his way into our lives.  

Piro sits for his portrait with uncharacteristic poise

When we took Bwino to get vaccinated in July of this year, we took Piro down, as well.  In lieu of a better option, and because we knew that nobody else would want to, we signed for his vaccine and listed ourselves as his owners.  Now, on paper, as well as in our hearts, Piro has officially been adopted.

Despite his clumsy neediness, we really are quite fond of him.