Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

It's a Dog's Life….Day One Hundred, Eighty Seven

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In October of 2005 our daughter Lisa was getting married.  In Florida.  We made the decision to drive.  So about a week before the wedding, Chet, Sampson and I packed up and headed for the sunshine state.

I had searched the internet and found a vacation home in the area where dogs were allowed.  The house had a pool and we were looking forward to a little R & R in the midst of the wedding celebration.  As luck would have it, the owners of the house also owned the house next door, so my sister and my mom rented it.

As soon as got to the house, I put my suit on and jumped into the pool.  Unfortunately we hadn’t prepared Sampson.  Sampson had only ever been in a lake, where you walked in and slowly the water got deeper.  Poor Sampson, he took one step and BOOM he was in over his head.  I don’t want to use the term FREAKED OUT because he didn’t flail and flomp, but it did scare him and it took him a few more days before he could be coaxed back in.  We did show him the steps, and he did sometimes lay in the water, but mostly he stayed on a lounge chair.

The pool area had a bar, the day our future son-in-law arrived, Chet and Steve went out to The Home Depot and purchased some styrofoam which they used to line the outdoor sink, so they could keep the beer cold.  Chet, Steve and Sampson as well as a host of various guests spent a LOT of time outside at the pool/bar.

The ladies (Lisa, Lynn and myself) spent a LOT of time with the wedding preparations.  One day while we were out of the house, my brother-in-law got Sampson into the pool.  After that, he would go in the pool if someone was in there with him.

We did try to get him on one of the pool floaties, but how do you explain balancing yourself to a dog?  We had also brought a bright orange retrieving toy, which we would throw in the pool.  He loves playing fetch with that toy, but he was so fast I couldn’t get  a picture of him with it.

Most of the time Sampson just enjoyed laying outside in the warm Florida sunshine.  But one day toward the end of our stay, Chet was down on the dock fishing when he heard a splash in the pool.  When he went to investigate he found Sampson taking a cooling off swim.

It’s a dog’s life.

Yum Yum Pancakes…Day One Hundred, Eighty Six

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We had just moved in to our current house, when I had the urge to make pancakes.  Being the ever resourceful person that I am, I pulled out a box of Bisquick and whipped up some pancake batter.  (Do you ever wonder how something that makes pancakes, can also make biscuits, dumplings, shortcake and pot pie batter and all taste different?)

I had the griddle on the stove and while I waited for the pan to heat up, I ran into the den to check something on the computer.

I left Chet sitting on the couch, not more than 15 feet from the stove.

Thoroughly engrossed with whatever I happened to be doing,  it took a minute for the slurp, slurp, slurping noise to permeate my brain.

“What the hell is that?” I thought.

Curiosity got the better of me, so I left the computer and made my way back to the kitchen area, where I found Delilah, front paws on the counter, face in the batter bowl, slurping happily away.

By the time I got the camera, she had licked off a majority of the batter. (I have since learned to keep my camera handy.)

Meanwhile, Chet (who once heard me whisper something to my daughter from one floor away) was sitting watching TV, oblivious to what was taking place barely 15 feet from him.

Yes, we still ate pancakes and yes Chet got the first one. 🙂

The Dog Takes the …Mouse?….Day One Hundred, Eighty Four

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When I was a kid we sang this song called “The Farmer in the Dell,” I’m sure you know the song.  The Farmer takes a wife, the wife takes a child…etc and on down the line until the cat takes the rat/mouse (depending on who’s singing it.)

We had an instance in our house, where the dog took the mouse. 

UM yeah, you read that right.  The dog took the mouse.

Ollie (our daughter Lynn’s cat) caught a mouse in the house.  Lynn is a big animal lover.  She wanted to save the mouse from the double paws and gnashing teeth of death, so she took the mouse away from the cat.  On her way out of the house, she decided to show Mike (yes, she named the mouse) to my mother. 

As mother, Sampson and Ollie gathered around,  Lynn opened her hands to expose the mouse;  Mike mustering all the courage his little mouse heart had, decided he would rather take his chances in the wilds of Stone Manor, than in Lynn’s hands and made a break for it.  He put his little paws together and with perfect form, dived out of Lynn’s hands.  Sampson being ever the opportunist and very good at catching things mid-air snagged the mouse.  There stood Sampson, mouse tail hanging out of his mouth, jaws clamped shut.

Lynn grabbed a hold of Sampson and tried to open his mouth, but Sampson wouldn’t give up his prize.  Lynn had her arms wrapped around Sampson’s neck begging and pleading with him to give her the mouse.  Nope, not happening.  Finally mother remembered the command and shouted “Drop it!”

Sampson dropped the mouse and Mike made a run for the safe haven under the couch.

Lynn was in a panic!  Ollie was on the hunt for the mouse and Sampson was prepared to eat the mouse, then Delilah decided she wanted a piece of the action.  So now Lynn had a cat, two dogs and a mouse all congregated in the same area.  Throw my mother into the mix and you have the closest idea of chaos you can possibly imagine.

Leaving mother to keep an eye on the mouse under the couch, Lynn took Ollie and locked him in her bedroom; then she let Sampson and Delilah outside and finally (don’t ask me how) caught the mouse and removed him to the great outdoors.

Regretfully, despite all Lynn’s attempts to save Mike; it wasn’t meant to be, apparently his injuries,  whether from Ollie or Sampson were too severe and he died on the side of the driveway.

R.I.P. Mike.

Have you seen a mouse?

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