My dog Indy, a black and tan miniature dachshund, is a bit of a drama queen. He doesn't always show it now that he is almost 5 years old. But when he was a puppy he would cry and whine whenever he even suspected I was leaving. When he realized that I was not coming back for a while, he would scratch at the door and scream (I'm not exaggerating) until I came home. To prevent costly tickets from the local Police Department, I would have to get ready for work in the morning, get Indy packed up and to his "daycare" location before I went to work.
For the past three years though he is relatively calm whenever I or my husband leave the house. It could be that he is older, or it could be that he has two siblings to keep him company. Paulie - our wirehaired miniature dachshund - has never been one to care when we leave, he just wants a treat. Indigo waits for us to leave so she can get up on the couch without having someone yell at her to get off. Indy will curl up on the couch in his favorite blanket, or on top of a pillow if it's too hot, and start snoozing long before I've shut the door.
This morning while I was getting ready for work, one of the dogs took advantage of the fact that I didn't shut the bathroom door all the way. I assume this was Paulie because he is obsessed with being in the bathroom with me at all times...nowhere else, just the bathroom. Once Paulie opened the bathroom door, Indy and Indigo followed.
Paulie started to unroll the toilet paper, while Indigo laid down on top of the vent. Indy knew I was in the bathroom, but because I was in the shower, he didn't see me. This must have set off an anxiety attack because while I was rinsing the conditioner out of my hair, the shower curtain moved quickly. Waiting to see some stranger with huge knife ready to carve me up, I instead was met with a shocked and now wet little black dog at my feet. He quickly realized his mistake and struggled to exit the shower. I helped him out and watched while he shook himself in disgust and walked back out of the bathroom.
After I was done getting dressed, I went out to the living room to check on him. He briefly looked up at me as if to say, "Let's just keep this little faux pas between the two of us. No one else has to know." He buried his head under his blanket again and went back to sleep.
I love that dog and sometimes, I don't know which one of us is more attached to the other.
