Monsoon's One-Year Bunkiversary Extravaganza!
Woof.
It is time once again to celebrate the life and times of The Bunk, who just turned 15 months old. This time last year (Thanksgiving break) was when that magnificent little fuzzball came into our lives.
Over the past few months, The Bunk has acquired a cousin—a Bichon Frise puppy named Buttons, who was welcomed into the Spatz family. Buttons is a wily, diminutive bundle of naughtiness, and the two of them have taken quite well to hanging out together some days. The picture below is a fine illustration of the horseplay in which Bunk and Buttons typically indulge.
The Bunk and Buttons - so named because of his cute little button eyes - have a snarling, furry romp in the kitchen
The Bunk also endured another health issue (though he’s completely fine now): he had a strange growth between two of his “toes,” and it turned out that it was a benign tumor caused by a viral infection. The upshot is that he had to have the thing removed, so about two weeks of pain pills and antibiotics and a wrapped paw followed that. We did use the “cone” for a few days, but he found a way to winkle out of it in his crate anyway, so we just abandoned it. Besides, he left the dressing alone and was, over all, a champ about the whole process.
The Bunk, heavily medicated, rests in his favorite spot; note the bandage on the left front paw
Since he was drugged up and just wanted to be left alone to sleep, Mrs. Monsoon and I neglected to brush him consistently. As a result, by the middle of this month, The Bunk’s coat was a frowzy mass of tangles and mats. And so, the good people at Total Dog and a Little Cat had to shear our boy dramatically when he returned to their fold for some grooming.
The Bunk, shorn, relaxes with loved ones on Thanksgiving Day
We did have The Bunk in a Halloween costume, but he was clad in it so fleetingly that no in-focus photographic evidence exists of this event. We managed to cram a bat-themed headband on him and he sat still long enough for us to snap a picture. Soon thereafter, he cuffed the offending headgear off and began to attack it.
The Bunk wears bat headband, fleetingly
For the upcoming holiday, I make this promise: I will clothe The Bunk in festive garb, take a picture of the result, and post it here on the weblog. Speaking of the holidays, here is a shot of The Bunk attacking a little stuffed reindeer toy I could not resist purchasing today at Petsmart.
The Bunk vs. stuffed reindeer toy; Monsoon's prediction: reindeer will be headless by December
The Bunk continues to amaze us each and every day with his steadfastness, his devotion, his sweetness. He follows us around, from floor to floor and room to room, simply because he needs to be near us—not in an annoying way, but it a faithful way. Marika noted on Thanksgiving Day that The Bunk is "a leaner." That is, when he wants to show affection or wishes to be petted, he leans into this person in the most snuggly (yet insistent) way. When one of us comes home—or kith and kin come for a visit—he can’t help jumping up to signal his joy. We’re still trying to curtail this behavior, but haven’t yet had much success.
I’ll wrap up here with a few more pictures of The Bunk for your delight. Enjoy the rest of your holiday break!
The Bunk sits adorably by the window. Face it: he's the most beautiful dog in the whole world. Seriously. Get over it. 
The Bunk takes a well-earned break from roughhousing with Buttons