Pru sits on top of my desk in her dog bed. I find it hard to type with her in my lap and she finds it hard to believe she is a dog. Pru is short for Prudence or Prudentia and she is a petite five month old miniature dachshund. Pru the pup proudly holds the title of one the most important, misunderstood and overlooked allegorical figures in human history. An allegorical figure that deserves to be way more popular than she is.
Pru was spotted amongst her four other tiny siblings by our eagle eyed twelve year old daughter. In a room full of the world’s cutest puppies it can be hard to judge which is the right puppy. Our daughter said she ‘just knew’ Pru was the right puppy for our family and she was correct. I imagine that the other families that adopted Pru’s siblings named them Justice, Courage, Charity and Temperance. But in our unbiased opinion Pru is clearly the pick of the litter.
Prudence is presently chewing on her bed on top of the desk. She hears her whole name when she is doing something naughty. This is in fact her third dog bed in less than two months. Pru is teething. Pru demands lots of attention. Attention that I gladly give to her because the girls are at school and my husband is at work. Pru chews on her bed as I type. I stop to give her scratches. She stops chewing. I go back to typing and she chews some more. I get her another dog treat to distract her from chewing on her bed.
Ignoring Pru or leaving her in a room on her own will not end well. Things get chewed up. Our family room rug is clinging to life by an ever lengthening thread. Little smelly ‘presents’ get left under the sofa. When we don’t keep on eye on Pru our house falls into disarray.
Pru looks as though she is cautious. All tiny and cute. Pru is not cautious at home. She is quite mischievous and occasionally cunning even though she is small and quiet. She observes as people and things move around our home. She says nothing, observes and then chews on everything. Any creature that can walk under furniture without ducking should be watched closely. It is easy to keep an eye on Prudence when things are quiet at home. The birds chirp and the winter sun shines through our windows. The bi-plane sails through the sky and its engine is easily heard.
We get into trouble when Prudence isn’t being watched. At busy points in the day when our house feels like a beehive Pru quietly nibbles on the rug and other various objects. Prudence is hard to keep on eye on when life is busy and we are running up and down the stairs, as the ‘To Do’ list unravels in my mind like the unraveling rug at my feet. Pru brings us back to the present with something stinky. Pru has left yet another present under the sofa. We ignore Pru the pup and Prudentia the allegorical figure at our own peril.
Ivy and Palm 