For 15 years, my wife and I and our kids enjoyed our wonderful Boston terrier Maggie. Maggie passed earlier this year and with all of our kids grown, we kind of enjoyed a dog-free period for a while.

Don’t get me wrong. We both love dogs. But when dogs get older, it’s hard to go out of town unless you can leave them with a friend or family member. Maggie’s hygiene declined and she needed more care as she aged.

Well, our single son asked to move back in with us. He had been renting a house near TU with a friend of his and that friend got a job in Oklahoma City. Their landlord wanted a new one-year lease extension and our son had no other roommate prospects. He moved in with us to save money for a down payment for his own house.

This is not a case in which a lazy, unemployed son is sitting in the parents’ basement all day on the Internet. Our son has a college degree in business and a good job (he’s had several promotions). He has proven to us and to himself that he can make it on his own. We have three empty bedrooms and it just makes sense for him to stay with us instead of paying double rent.

He has two dogs. They are pugs. They are puppies. They are as cute as they can be. He started with one puppy but the poor dog was so lonely during the day when he was at work that he got a second puppy (from the same breeder).

And a friend from work also got a puppy from the same source. And before our son left his rental house, all three dogs were together during the day.

Now all three dogs stay at our house during working hours.

We have a home office and the dogs are better off because they aren’t cooped up all day. They have access to half of our house – including the office – and a big back yard to run around in.  These dogs are so cute. At night, they curl up in your lap while you watch TV and they are very affectionate.

And a lot of work.

When they arrived, they were not fully house broken. We are making progress in that department but it is slow. And when there are three dogs, you are not always sure who went to the bathroom indoors, so it is hard to train the offender.

And all puppies like to chew on stuff. These pugs have a ton of chew toys but they still like to destroy houseplants and pretty much anything that isn’t tied down or smells interesting.

I keep telling myself that in a few more months, they will settle down and stop chewing on everything.

Pug puppies are great watchdogs. They react to every little noise, good or bad. When someone comes to our front door, they go ballistic. They don’t bite and they really love people when they can tell that we like them.  A typical reaction is, “Oh, wow. You have three of them.”

Pug puppies are housedogs. They love to go outside but they are sensitive to hot weather and cold weather. This winter, they will wear coats when they go outside because we don’t want them to develop respiratory problems.

We have squirrels in our back yard, which they didn’t see much of in their old house. Our Boston terrier went crazy when she saw a squirrel in the back yard. We think she killed at least two. Now, the pugs are starting to notice the squirrels and they chase them up a tree. It’s fun to watch.

All three pugs are female and they have not yet been fixed. Two of the three are very jealous and if you pet one, you have to pet all three.

Dogs are wonderful. You can discipline them in a stern voice one minute and they will cower, as if they are afraid you are going to hit them (we don’t, of course). Three minutes later, they want to lick your face and sit in your lap. These pugs are fiercely loyal. We saw them a few times when they were little and they have really warmed up to our affections and their new home.

One of the nice things about watching someone else’s puppy is that the friend from work can occasionally return the favor. Our Boston terrier did not handle being boarded at all. She hated being in a cage and she couldn’t stand other dogs. In the kennel, she was in a cage surrounded by other dogs. We had to have someone watch her in his or her home.

I am already fretting about when our son moves out and takes away Frankie and Fiona (those are his pugs) plus Maxine. It will be good and bad. We will still see from time to time. That might be when we get another Boston terrier.

But until then, it’s nice to experience a “three dog night” on a winter evening.