Dogs can be very nice to have. They keep you company, and don’t nag you about anything – except perhaps to go out or request some bones or treats. They are pretty good to deal with although depending on the size, you have to be careful not to trip over them. We are at the stage right now where we do not have a dog – officially. What we do have is a very small golden retriever who sleeps by the front door. Well, some people thing she is real, particularly workmen who stare at her and want to know if she is alive. The reason they wonder is because it appears that she is breathing.
Actually, she is battery operated, and her sides move up and down like she is sleeping nicely. The Blonde in the House named her Muffin. (I would have named him Strongbow or Baldar the Brave or something equally poetic). However, I was informed that I got to name the real dogs so she was naming Muffin. The three dogs we had were Juno a cocker spaniel, Venus a German Shepard mix, and last but definitely not least, Sheba who was mostly a Golden Retriever especially in demeanor.
Our sons have continued to keep the dog line going, although our youngest was pretty slow to take up challenge of dog raising. Our oldest son had a Portuguese Water Dog named Sox. Sox was a food snatcher which I soon found out when we visited. I left the breakfast table to get something and upon my return the bagel I was eating was gone. However, the next time I was there, it could be considered worse as I was there for my birthday. Our family had hidden a birthday cake for me on top of some ping pong tables where they were certain it would be safe from Sox. Not so, when they went down to bring it up, old Sox has eaten a hole right in the middle and was working on the rest of it.
Now our older son has two labradoodles named Ziggy and Mabel. Ziggy had the field to himself for a good number of years. Then Mabel showed up as a puppy which Ziggy thought was a crime against his area of expertise. Things were touch and go for some time, but eventually it worked out. At the moment they are all out in Colorado. When the older son walks them out there, he has to carry a bat. There are coyotes out in those mountains. They are not very nice members of the canine family.
To return to our youngest son, he has joined the dog ownership field as his family now has a puppy named Cooper who is a cousin of our older son’s dogs.
This son does not have to carry a bat when he walks Cooper. However, he does have to possess sharp eyes as Cooper will eat anything that he can find – and he finds an awful lot. He doesn’t want to give it up either so our son has become an expert in the take it away game. Cooper lives the closest to us of all the dogs and he is very cute.
This leads to a comment now and then from The Blonde that it might be nice to get some company for Muffin. I am of the opinion that Muffin would be hurt if such a thing were to occur. Besides we have already bought a lot of batteries to keep her in shape. If anything changes, I will be certain to let everyone know!
Barry Evans writes about Life in The Villages for Villages-News.com