A Simple Dog Day

It's all about the dogs today. Sometimes I wish I had the life of a dog. If my face could persuade and beg to achieve my ultimate satisfaction, I'd be a dog. Their pleasures are simple and pure. The benefit of living with them is that they can light up a room or your mood, just by being there. Whether they are snoring, panting, whining, begging, or farting, their presence is always noticed and welcome. I could do without the flatulence, though.

My cell phone rang at 6:18 this morning. Normally, my heart would nearly fail to hear the phone ring early in the morning, but I knew it was Gina telling me she was on her way over since I promised to offer doggie daycare to Mr. Biggins today. I didn’t have anything on my agenda except to get all of the gifts wrapped, get the mess I’d make cleaned up, and restore my dining room to its original order. Fifteen minutes after my wake-up call, Mr. Biggins bounded through the kitchen door, nearly taking down my large Christmas tree, and was ready for a cookie and some action. I, wearing my slippers, nightgown, coat, cock-eyed eyeglasses, and a head full of cowlicks, greeted him with slight enthusiasm. Gina went off to work.

The party never ends when you have three dogs under foot. There is no privacy, either. While I was showering, Mr. Biggins nosed his way into the bathroom and I found him staring at me, nosed pressed against the shower door. He's a Mama's boy. Most of the time, he has a furrowed brow and worries when he needs to be "with you". Then appeared the other two. Three’s a crowd!

At 10:10 a.m. I was wrapping gifts in the dining room and the power went out for an hour. Oh, great! It was cloudy and spitting rain outside, very quiet in the house, and the dogs know when things aren’t right. Suddenly feeling anxious and bored, they pawed me. I knew what they wanted. Either to watch Dr. Phil or Action! So outside we went.

"Please please please play with us!" My camera is very slow and can't capture any action, like Bella's constant head turning. Hmmmph.

They are whooping it up and sparring. Bella has great boxing ability. She springs up from her low position (above) and punches his face with both front feet. Soon, Mr. Biggins' tongue was hanging off the side of his mouth and Bella was showing off the largest, wettest, spoon tongue I’ve seen yet.

She's an insanely jealous and stingy female when it comes to sharing her toys and attention. Her beloved hula-hoop is her main obsession and I finally got fed up with her behavior and put it in the garage.

The sour puss. My poor Chloe doesn’t partake in the rough and tumble antics anymore. A few years ago, she would have been the ring leader. She did surprise me today, though, and chased Mr. Biggins and manhandled him a bit. He loves her and they sleep side by side. Instead of getting into the action, she’d rather stand still and watch, or dig holes. I yelled at her and you can see she’s wasn’t happy with me, either. Why? In less than two minutes, her face and legs were coated in red clay. For more on my relationship with this cunning girl, read here.

Cookie time! After I did poop patrol and filled the feeders, it was time to come back inside.

At 65 pounds, Mr. Biggins finds the coziest places to snooze (including your lap). A gentle, sweet soul. I love him. He's dreaming of those wild women who wear him out!

My gift wrapping is a WRAP! A good time was had by all.

A day in a dog's life.