It's a Dog's Life

My dogs are going to miss me when I go back to work on Monday...

We have had a good time together. They like it when I work outside and spend time with them. They have actually trained me quite well: the cookies flow freely when Mom is home.

We seem well-suited to each other, the Spice Girls and me. They are like all dogs, and appreciate having routines. I am a creature of habit. We work together well. But now that the weather has changed, we have had to adjust.

The usual routine: I get up in the morning, come out to the laundry room, and greet the girls. I am met with wagging tails and barks. I have noticed recently that both girls, formerly altos, have become sopranos...Hmmm.

Anyway, after our 'good mornings' are exchanged, I give each of them a cookie, then open the laundry room door so they can race across the family room and out the doggie door. Of course, they are people, not doggies, but the door IS the right height, and it IS open...

Well, cooler weather has brought a new wrinkle to our routine. If I give them the cookie in the laundry room, they will just take it and go get back in bed. So, I tried a new routine: I greet them, as usual, and open the laundry room door, as usual. Then, I walk to the doggie door, waiting to give them their cookies.

Cinnamon, the bigger one, has changed the routine: she races across the family room and out the door, then stands there and waits for me to put my hand—with her cookie in it—through the door. Being a fairly intelligent person, I quickly learned my new trick.

Not so with Ginger. She has always been a little different, in many ways. She was a “foster dog” in a home with 45 other foster dogs. You read it right, 45 other foster dogs. So, Ginger has issues.

She never takes her cookie and runs. I have to pet her first, and tell her how much I like her; and get my fingers licked, too. Then, and only then, will she take her cookie. Well, with the colder weather, she requires her loves, her cookie, and a gentle push on her rump. Otherwise, she ain't going out no stinkin' doggie door.

I have enjoyed my time with them this week. They are great helpers. I have been doing some painting projects on the back patio and, thanks to the cooler, humid weather, the paint isn't drying very fast. So, the three of us have spent a lot of time watching paint dry.

Dogs are good at that.