Larry's boy toy

I am a hopeless dog lover. We have, over the years, had a Poodle, Pomeranian mix (a mutt then - a designer dog now), a Brittany Spaniel, a Westie, and for the last ten years, we have had three Daschunds. A year ago our beloved Bob had to be put to down for back problems. Putting him to sleep was one of the hardest days of my life. His partner, Lucy, had become less and less social after his problems began and he withdrew from us, so I (with Ken's permission) got a puppy-for her, and for me.
Bob was a short-haired black and tan, so that was what I wanted, because his temperament was so good. Emily, our daughter who was living with us at the time, went with me to pick up Larry.(Oh, I forgot to mention she moved in with us with two Doxie's of her own...it was pretty crazy here for awhile.)
Larry was three pounds of cuteness and, from the first hour, dominated the other dogs. He was relentless in his pursuit of play and often had the other dogs chasing him, cornering him, and somehow wiggling out of the corner he'd been boxed into, chasing them. It was hilarious.
Emily moved out last August and Larry turned his attention on Ken. Lucy is a plump long-hair black and tan, and easily wins the 'laziest dog on earth' award, plus she is about as much fun as a stuffed toy (howbeit sweet in her own way), so it was evident he needed a playmate.
Ken has a history of tolerating our dogs (for me), but when I brought Larry home Ken was smitten. Larry began hiding tennis balls under pieces of furniture he couldn't retrieve them from, and would whine and make other mysterious noises until Ken would get down on all fours and rescue them for him. Then,Ken would toss the ball and Larry would chase it and come back to him, but couldn't factor how to let go of the balls, so Ken worked with him to 'drop the ball'.
It has evolved into a never-ending game that only happens when Ken is home. Larry acts like a normal dog until about 5:30 PM, then he finds a ball and waits by the back door waiting for Ken, dropping the ball at his feet when Ken walks in the door. The weekends verge on obsession. When Ken goes downstairs to his office, Larry nudges his ball between the railing (I think he enjoys hearing it thump down the stairs) and waits at the top for Ken to bring it to him and play again. And, Ken does it, giving me a helpless look that this puppy can possibly have him so well trained.
Ken has started hiding the balls at bed time, giving Larry a chewie to calm him down. This morning when Ken got up Larry was sitting below the drawer Ken hides the balls in, staring at it. Guess what? Larry got the ball. They're playing now.
This is a part of my husband I never thought I'd see...he's Larry's boy toy. It's a full life!