Paris at Five

December 16, 2009. Momma gets a text. Paris and her siblings have arrived.

About a month later, Momma goes to meet her, bringing Angel, a seven year old Maltese and a full alpha dog. Angel is not easy to impress, but somehow she takes an immediate liking to this tiny Ewok-looking, gummy-bear little body thing. That is Paris.

Paris comes home for good around February 2010. She is full of life. She even brings the childhood back out of Angel. From the day Paris arrives until Angel passes in April 2015, those two are inseparable.

In December 2014, The Other Momma comes into her life and gives her the name we still call her, Shuggie Buggie with a Nuggie.

After Angel is gone, Paris is Momma's only pup for years. Then, in March 2023, Misty joins them. Funny enough, Misty is not Misty yet. When Momma looks at the rescue website, the name on the profile is Paris. Momma already has a Paris. What are the odds. That coincidence is exactly why she stops on the profile at all.

The little rescue puppy named Paris comes home and needs a new name. The family already has a Paris Hilton, so a plain Misty will not do. She becomes Misty Elliott, a play on Missy Elliott.

Misty Elliott is an American Staffordshire Terrier, a bully-breed, which makes the sisters a funny picture: a tiny Shih Tzu big sister and a bully-breed little sister, and Paris is still clearly in charge. Paris does not quite realize what she is getting herself into. Misty is two months old and in full puppy mode; Paris has spent years as the only pup. Misty is not exactly the little sister Paris would have picked for herself.

Misty stays in full puppy mode for a good while, technically her first twelve months, and starts calming down after about a year. The family always keeps an eye on the two of them together, and Paris knows exactly how to put her little sister in her place. Paris has never been an alpha dog the way Angel was, but with Misty, she is still in charge.

Now they have their routines together. Dog parks. Piling into the car just to get pup cups. Walking through Sawgrass Mills Mall, where Misty walks and Paris rides in her stroller like the queen she is.

After COVID, working from home becomes part of our life. Paris spends her days in the home office with Momma, usually snoozing nearby while Momma works.

But somehow, she always knows when it is 5:00. No clock. No alarm. She wakes up and starts prancing around the office.

Her message is clear. Stop working, Momma. Let's go.

She has a whole way of telling Momma. The prance. The little dance across the office floor. The look that says the workday is over whether Momma agrees or not.

And she is always right. There is always a good reason to close the laptop, and most days she is it.

She has taught Momma more about balance than any book ever could. The work will still be there tomorrow. This, right now, is the part that matters.

Paris goes everywhere with Momma. She comes to the park and watches Momma play basketball or racquetball. She goes on bike rides, tucked into her little carrier on Momma's back.

She even goes to restaurants, where she sits quietly in her carrier. Most of the time, no one even knows she is there. Until she does the doggy shake. Then everyone knows.

These days there are two of them. Dog parks. Piling into the car for pup cups. At the mall, Misty walks. Paris rides in her stroller like royalty.

Before COVID, Paris is a regular at Momma's office. She comes along on business trips to Momma's other offices throughout Florida.

On those long drives across the state, Paris is Momma's co-pilot. Her sidekick. Everyone at the offices loves her. Momma does her IT thing while Paris sits quietly in her carrier.

Wherever Momma is, that is simply where she wants to be.

Every day when it is time for me to shower, Paris follows me right into the bathroom. She settles in outside the shower and waits, keeping watch the whole time.

She is there when I step out, every single time, like she was making sure nothing happened to me while I could not see.

I always snap a picture of her waiting there, and I always tell her the same thing. Thank you for being my protector.

Not every trip is somewhere Paris can come. When Momma has to travel out of state, she leaves her suitcase open while she packs.

Without fail, Paris jumps right in.

Maybe she figures that if she gets in there first, Momma has to take her along. Honestly, it almost works every time.

Paris loves the car with her whole body. It does not matter where they are going. The pharmacy counts. A pup cup run counts.

For years, it is just the two of them on the road. Now Misty piles in too, but Paris is still the one who knows exactly where she belongs.

As long as she is riding along beside Momma, it is an adventure.

Her full name is Paris Hilton. Momma names her after the singer, and after her 2006 song Stars Are Blind, a song Momma has loved for years. So when this little puppy comes along in 2009, the name just fits. Paris Hilton. Of course that is her name.

She has more than one name, because one name is never enough for a dog like Paris.

Shuggie Buggie with a Nuggie is the name The Other Momma gives her when she comes into Paris's life in December 2014. It is the whole song she sings to her, all in one name.

Pookie Smukie is Momma's name for her. It comes out on quiet afternoons and at office doorways and every time she looks up from a nap like she has a question.

Mommas baby is what she is every day, meaning simply, my baby. On every walk, at every doorway, at every five o'clock.

None of them mean anything on their own. Together, they mean the whole thing. You are ours, and you always know when it is time.