"Every Dog Must Have His Day"

     This is a quote from Jonathan Swift.  It is another way of saying that everyone has a moment of triumph or success.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

     Do not instigate trouble;  leave something alone if it might cause trouble.

   

Dog Days of Summer

     Ever wonder what the phrase, "Dog Days of Summer," means?  I've heard this saying off and on my entire life.  The phrase refers to the sultry days of summer.  It is usually the hottest days of the summer during July and August in the Northern Hemisphere.
     In history, dog days were popularly believed to be an evil time when the sea boiled, the wine turned sour, and dogs grew mad.  All creatures grew languid, and man risked acquiring diseases such as burning fevers, hysterias, and insanity.  It seems like the making of a Stephen King movie to me!
     In latter years, the stock market is referred to as suffering from the Dog Days of Summer.  Some of the stocks become volatile while others only seem to wilt.  The stocks are called "dogs." 

     Upcoming in future weeks, I will contemplate many more dog phrases.

Man's best friend has certainly left his mark on our daily use of language.

Dogs! Dogs! Dogs!  More dog stories and such to come.

Technical Difficulties

Due to Technical Difficulties, I have been unable to post on my blogs for the past two weeks.  Posting will begin again next week. 

He Sheds

             It seems I am never too old to learn new things. My daughter has two dogs. A Labrador retriever named Santana and a Siberian husky named Snyder. I knew both were kept in their fenced back yard. When coming into the driveway, the gate to the back yard is straight before you. I generally took the two dogs for granted. They did their routine barking as visitors came. And then, they would stop. But it was not any barking that day that caught me eyes. I shouted out!

            “What’s wrong with Snyder?” I asked.

            “Nothing!” replied my daughter.

            “But look at his fur!” I shouted.

            It brought only laughter as my daughter proceeded to tell me.

            “Did you not know that Siberian husky’s shed their fur?”

            “I read St. Bernard’s did. Whether any other dog did or not, I never read anything about it. I guess it comes from not being an owner of one.”

            “Well, they do shed their coats. I can’t afford that groomer. We do it ourselves. And just recently a friend came over and we were both in the back yard pulling dead hair from his coat. We stopped well before finishing as mosquitoes like to have eaten us up. I guess there’s some stagnant water around. I need to get back out there and start the process again.”

            “Can you just shave him?”

            “No,” became her startled reply, “You never do that. It can irritate his skin.”

            I now have pictured in my mind that coat. That dog would lose enough to make a pillow.

            With any animal there comes a responsibility. Sometimes feeding is not enough. Of course there are the shots, taking to a vet, etc. Calling to mind, I remember this one time my husband tried taking a bath with our dog. Thinking our dog would get his bath this way. Duh! It was a bad idea. The dog put scratches everywhere on him with his attempt to escape. At the time, it wasn’t funny. But it is now as I think back. It just proves we care for our dogs.

            As for a dog that sheds like Snyder does, I never had one like that. But as humans, we are not beyond going that extra mile for our love of dog. If Snyder were mine, I’d be doing the same thing. I’d be out there cleaning his shedding coat.

The Homeless Dog

            It was a vacant car wash. It was apparently one of many in our city. Upon becoming vacant, it was met with vandalism. I didn’t even know it was there until I took a back road to get to the interstate. The vandals had done a good job on it even down to taking the draining grates in the bays. But still in its run down existence, there was displayed a work of art. For there in sight, upon each wall, was graffiti. Someone had spent hours upon hours painting. To many it may have been seen just as additional graffiti. But to my amazement, I saw art. From then on, a trip occasionally down the back road took me back to additional paintings. It was actually good. Why some great painter was wasting his time on the car wash was a question I ask myself. But being someone who loves to write and yet to get a break, I figured this painter was in the same boat. He was waiting for a break. A true writer writes to be heard. Perhaps a painter paints to be seen. And so; he is upon the walls of a vacant car wash.

            But the story is not about the painter. Instead it is about him/her and their dog making the car wash their home. On one visit, the occupants came out from a back bay. It was a homeless couple.

            “I see you like our home decorations,” the man said.

            “Yes I do!” yelling from my car.     

            But not until the barking dog was called back to his master, did I get out of the car.

            Ordinarily fear may have clouded my thinking. But it was not so as they seemed harmless. I saw the dog as more their protection from me. In fact, I was quick to ask about the dog.

            “Does the dog bite?”

            “Only if he sees you as a threat,” replied the lady. “And he doesn’t. You can even pat him now.”

            The dog moved closer. I reached out a hand. I patted him and he seemed to enjoy my touch.

“What’s his name?” I asked.

            “It’s Jack. He’s just plain old Jack.” She laughed. "He’s our protector. If anyone comes upon us unexpectedly, Jack lets us know. We take good care of him. If not much food, Jack eats first.”
            I smiled as my way of responding.
            I'm sorry I woke you up," I said.  Ï just stopped to take in a little art on my way to work."

            “We certainly can understand that,” said the man. “There are a lot of people who stop by looking at the art work. My wife and I enjoy the company.”

            “I can’t stay,” chuckling a bit from their last remark. “I wish I could stay longer. But I need to go or I’ll be late for work.”

            “Please come again,” both speaking at the same time.

            Getting into the car, I waved good-by.

            It is to this day I still think of that couple and their dog Jack. I go by and look occasionally at the new art work that has been painted over the last paintings there. But the couple and Jack have apparently moved on to another home. I think about the things that can happen out there in this world. Having Jack was a good idea for the homeless couple. The dog was their protector. I notice more and more homeless since meeting those. And, I have noticed, some others have a dog. A dog makes for a good companion. He also makes for a good PROTECTOR!