As
I woke up this past Wednesday morning, I got a treat, that is becoming a regular
thing now and I really like it. When I
opened my eyes, which must have been really loud, all the sleeping dogs at my
side begin to...
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| By this little girl... |
Many
years ago when I was 14 years old, my mother was telling a story to my sister
about a camping trip she had taken with my brother and his wife. They went camping someplace where she could
fish, something she loved. As the story
went, after dinner they were sitting around the campfire and my sister-in-law set
a plate on the ground that had a few morsels of food left on it from dinner for
their dog to enjoy. I assume this was a common
thing for her to do at their house. Well,
Mom said to my sister “I will never eat with them again.” She was so upset
because the dog had eaten off the same plate that a person had eaten off of. Needless to say, Mom would never eat at my
house with us if she was alive, God rest her soul. When I was young, we were not a dog family
and the only one we had, never came into the house, ever! But at “our” house things are a little different…
From
the very first day we got a dog, they were part of the family. Elaine and I moved to the farm after our kids
left home for college and the dogs became our new children. They would ride with us, eat when we did and
sleep in their kennel which was built for them when it was bedtime. After some time, things slowly started to
change for the dogs. At one time, they
all slept in the kennel but now we have 6 dog beds in the TV room, a couch and
a single recliner and they will find a spot or get on my lap that they all
occupy one time or another.
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| Problem...Really? |
Dinner
is a little different too, they do eat in the kennel but once done, they’re
inside after a long walk. We usually eat
watching TV during dinner and my rule is no eating with us until we’re
done. Just last night, Abbie and Meggie
got to pre-wash my plate before it went into the dishwasher. I know, I know, it’s not the right thing to
do, but those sad eyes kill me.
…Well,
back to the original story. When I first
woke up Wednesday morning, Lily moved up to my head. She put her head on my neck and nuzzled my neck
for several minutes. She then curled up
on my chest and slid down to where her head was resting on my arm. She is a licker and it shows by the cleanliness
or the lack thereof of my face. She went
on and on and I knew right then she was now comfortable with people. I don’t advocate dog licking and some even
say it’s not healthy but it’s one of the ways dogs have of showing their
affection to us.
I have often thought of what a handicap it must
be, not to be able to grasp something with my hand, but a dog uses its mouth every
day fetching something, opening something and by giving kisses showing us affection
with their mouth. Heaven help us if they
had thumbs. When all is at peace and things are calm around here, some dog, any
dog, will get near me and lick me even if it is just on the tip of my nose,
just to say Daddy, I love you…
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