Evelyn Medina
As finals are coming up on us, and this year comes to a close, what we desperately need is some time to relax and unwind from yet another semester of hard work. I personally cannot wait for the break, as I get to watch my little brother go to high school while I stay home eating leftovers from our Christmas feast. However, what I am most looking forward to is spending the extra time with my mini schnauzer, Nemo, and my mutt, Lucy.
Nemo was my very first puppy, and we adopted him into our family last year in August. That’s right, we were one of the COVID puppy families. I can’t say I am ashamed to fall victim to begging my mom for another dog when Lucy was fine on her own, but there was something about having the extra time off from school that made me want to take on another challenge. I began to look up corgi puppies, as I have always wanted a corgi, but there were none in the area. I don’t know how long after I began my search for yet another pet, that my mom began to like the idea too, and it didn’t help that my brother had been asking for another dog for about a year. Either way, one Saturday afternoon, my brother slept in until about 2pm, while my mom and I took a ride to look for puppies. That morning, I had no clue that I would be coming home that night with a 10 week old, grey Mini Schnauzer named Nemo.
Having Nemo is like having a toddler; we need to watch him all the time, and make sure he doesn’t chew on the cats. Nonetheless, Nemo is sprightly, noisy, and so smart. Within a week, he learned to sit, lay down, and leave Lucy’s food alone. In about a month, we had taught him to “dance.” In two months, we taught him to “go to bed,” which meant get in the cage. Even now, going into the cage doesn’t bother him. Nemo associates it with a comfy bed and food. One day, after school, I had the idea to teach him how to do agility tricks. In 2 days, and less than 20 minutes per day, Nemo learned to jump through a hoop. It was easy to teach him these tricks, considering he will do anything for food.
After a few months of practicing these tricks, and getting to know my new puppy, it was time for Christmas, and last year was unlike any other. A week before Christmas, the Northeast was slammed with a blizzard unlike anything we have ever seen. The last time the northeast reached four feet of snow in one night, I hadn’t even been born. Nemo had seen his first snowfall before, but this experience was very exciting for my little dog. After an hour of shoveling a small pathway for the dogs to leave the porch, Nemo. ran down the steps and chased Lucy in the small path. Of course, he also took the opportunity to chase her into the four feet of snow, where neither of them made it more than two feet of the way into it. After two days, about half of the snow had melted and flooded our parks, but this was good news for Nemo. Why? Because at night, when it dropped below freezing, the mounds of snow in our yard became solid ice, and in the morning, Nemo had more room to run, and chase Lucy around the yard. His particular favorite spot was on top of the mound of snow in front of the door. He would sit for long periods of time on that snow mound, and it was always the first place he would go when I let him outside.
Nemo doesn’t like the cold. In fact, he doesn’t like the warmth either. In the winter, he will shiver until you pick him up to hold him, or else he needs a sweater. He enjoys wearing sweaters, and waits patiently for us to put them on him. In the Summer, Nemo will only be able to walk for about five minutes before he finds a shady area to lay down in. I need to carry him home or drag him home, because he will not tolerate walking in the heat, even when we cut his fur short.
Nemo has so much personality, the world cannot even compare itself to him. When we adopted him last year, we did not know how much a Mini Schnauzer would do for us. They are not only one of the most intelligent dog breeds, they are one of the most entertaining and lovable. With their eyebrows and beards, there is not a single person who would regret getting a Nemo of their own.