Theodore Frank The Finest Dog Around

Aside from learning not to go to bathroom in the house and to resist the temptation to play with shoes. I learned my name Theodore Frank The Finest Dog Around. I'm the Finest Dog Around because there can only be one Greatest Dog On Earth and she deserves the Finest Dog Around for a sidekick and that's me.

Bubba had a life long buddy named Teddy who slept all day and when he finally woke up he would cough, then take the first sip from his coffee and sneeze causing the coffee to spill all over himself. Then he'd spend the rest of the night walking into walls for some reason Bubba's never explained. His full name was Theodore Frank and unfortunately he passed on several years ago, so I never got to meet him.

I had a hacking cough and sneezed a lot when I was a puppy and I wasn't very coordinated so I slid into the walls a lot. Bubba said I was a perfect namesake for Teddy. That's how I got the Theodore Frank The Finest Dog Around. I answer to that name and would stand up on my hind legs when Bubba called me by that name. I also answer to Theodore. But don't call me Theo, Ted or Teddy, those names just don't seem dignified to me and I won't answer.

Clancy and I spend a lot of time playing with each other. But when I was a young puppy I still needed to get a lot of sleep. I soon discovered there were only a few places I could find to get some rest without Clance bugging me.

Sometimes I would hide in the crate that's kept in the dining room. For some reason Clance doesn't like to use the crate for anything but a toy box. I guess she figured that's exactly where I belonged when she wasn't playing with me, because she'd leave me alone when I was sleeping in it. Another good place to hide from Clancy is behind the toilet in our bathroom. But that wasn't always an option.

You see Bubba, Clance and me share a bedroom upstairs and back then I didn't know how to climb stairs. The only way I got to and from our bedroom was for somebody to carry me upstairs. I spent a lot of time at the top and bottom of those stairs barking for somebody to pick me up those first few weeks. Mama and Bubba say I squeaked. They may be right. but that's the best a little puppy can do the first several months of their lives and we call it barking.

Bubba was very patient teaching me how to use the stairs. He'd walk up the first four stairs to the landing and I'd bark at him to come back down and get me. Then he'd sit down on the landing and say "Come on little Buddy! You can do it.! Yes you can! After a couple days working together I learned how to climb up to that first landing.

The next stretch up the stairs was a lot longer, it was ten steps to the top. That was a little scarier then just going up four steps to the landing. It took me another couple days to conquer that. I'd sit on the landing and Bubba would say, "Can You Do It! Yes You Can!" Then he'd crawl up the stairs with me until I got used to going alone.

That first time I went up all by myself I was very proud and so was everyone else. It would still be couple weeks before I got up the courage to go down the stairs by myself.

But just being able to go up the stairs had a very important purpose. You see with me around Clance figured she had the ultimate squeaky toy and to keep me happy she gave me all her other toys. Bubba says that's really something because Clance doesn't share her toys at all.

I spent the next couple days carrying all my toys upstairs. boy was that a lot of work, some of the bears and other stuffed toys were bigger than me. But I got them all upstairs by myself. I piled them up in the middle of our bedroom floor then I go back to the top of the stairs and call Bubba. He'd come and carry me down the stairs and I grab another toy to carry back up then call Bubba to get me again. After a couple days I had all my toys piled up in the middle of the bedroom floor. They're really comfortable to snuggle up to and fall asleep in.

Bubba was really patient about carrying me down the stairs. But after a couple weeks he started working with me more and more at conquering my fear of going down by myself.

He started by setting me down on the third step from the bottom. Then he'd sit by my side and cheer me on saying over and over again "Can You Do It! Yes You Can!" He'd slide down on his butt one step at a time and continue to cheer me on as I followed him down each step. After a while I was able to go from the landing down the four steps to the bottom by myself. I guess Bubba thought that was a pretty good, because he never pushed me to go down the bigger stretch alone.

A few mornings later when we woke up, I followed Bubba all the way down the stairs without even thinking about it. I guess Bubba wasn't thinking about it either, when I pawed at his leg he looked down at me and I saw the surprise begin to register on his face as he looked back up the stairs. Then we both realized what I had done. Bubba cheered and laughed and gave me a whole bunch of praise. Then we ran up and down the stairs together a couple times to celebrate.

Book II Chapter IV

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