Life With Roommates' Pets

I first met Jerry, the dog, when I rented a room in a house with two other females, Maureen and Carol. Jerry was a Shih-Poo (a mix between a Poodle and a Shih Tzu). Shih-Poo is an unfortunate name but hey, it kind of fit him. Yes, he was a cutie and I did like to pet him on occasion, but ew, did he smell! I would let him sit on my lap on occasion and pet him, but I would have to wash my hands for over 10 minutes just to get the smell off of me. It was like he smelled like a wet dog even when he was dry. So when he would go crazy and excited and run around the house, he left a scent wherever he went. He was Maureen’s dog, and she loved him like a little baby. As soon as she walked in the door, she would baby talk to him and he would bark and jump up and down that his mommy was finally home. Maureen once found an old broken dollhouse on the side of the road and put it in the front window in the living room so Jerry could jump on it and look out the window. He also took naps in it too.

Carol was a very nice and good person, but she hated Jerry. Although, come to think of it, she could have actually been Cruella de Vil. Whenever she was mad at him, she would say to him that she would eat him and wear his fur like a coat. Even though it was mean, it made me laugh every time she said that. We did get pretty mad at him though, because he liked to pee on the couch. So I can’t always blame her for not liking him too much.

I used to take Jerry for walks when I was home and needed to get out, or when I felt bad for him, or when Maureen would pay me to walk him. At that time, we didn’t use the little doggie bags to pick up the poop; we would use any small plastic bag. In the kitchen, there was a container filled with plastic bags that we would just grab. One time when Maureen took Jerry for a walk, both Carol and I were home. When she came home, she was upset.

“Who put this plastic bag with holes in the bag container?!” Maureen cried. “I picked up Jerry’s poop with this bag and it got all over my hands!”

It turned out to be one of the little bags with holes that come with grapes when you buy them at the grocery store. Carol was in the kitchen when Maureen came in, and I was in my room, which was on the main floor, right across from the kitchen.

Then I heard Carol ask, “How did you not realize that this bag had holes when you picked it up?!”

She was more amazed that Maureen didn’t notice the holes. But I just laughed and laughed at the fact that Maureen had dog poop all over her hands.

Carol only walked Jerry if Maureen begged her to, because he needed to go to the bathroom and neither she nor I were going to be home. Carol begrudgingly did so. One afternoon, I received a text from her and she was mad.

Carol: “AARRGGHHH I took Jerry out for a walk because Maureen begged me and I’m the only one who was home. While we were out for a walk in the neighbourhood, Jerry pulled me to this one front yard and he starts rolling around on the grass. It wasn’t until he finally started to walk again that I realize he’s been rolling around in another dog’s poop!!! SO GROSS!!!

Then I have to drag him back to the house and give him a bath, and I had to touch him and wash him and he shook water and soap all over me. I hate this dog!!!!

I was at school when I got this text, and even though I felt bad for her, I laughed so hard I was crying. It was the best part of my day!