Zundel Attacks Christopher

     The neighbor's dog was a grey poodle.  She named him Christopher.
     This was while we were living in our first owned house.  It was a one level living area with a basement.  When opening the garage door that led to the basement, I sometimes took the baby out with me and sat at the entrance.  We had one child, who was in a playpen in the garage with me, and our dog Zundel would run free in the yard but always chose to remain somewhat close by.
     I heard the door to the house next door open and shut.  I knew the neighbor was letting Christopher out to do his business.  She never watched him.  She would let him out and then about an hour later, she would holler for him to come on back inside. Zundel ordinarily ignored Christopher whenever Christopher wandered over into our yard. 
     But this time something was different.  I had the playpen with the baby in it out here with me. It amused me to some extent when I saw a fight about to happen.  Christopher came near the playpen.  Zundel attacked him.  Christopher was able to get loose after a bit of a struggle.  I watched Christopher run back over to his house and scratch at the back door.  The neighbor let him inside. 
     I was amazed. Zundel had protected my child.  She had considered Christopher as a danger and protected her master!

Look Alikes

     Do dogs really look like their owners?  Does it really have anything to do with what breed you pick?  Or does the dog, after accepted in the new home, simply pick up on the owner's behavior that makes him resemble the owner?  You be the judge.

The Neighbor's Dog

     There is a man and a woman living in the house across the street from me.  The house is a rental house.  Over the years, I have seen many different people living there.  The man living there right now told my son that the owner of the property did not allow pets.  I have heard this before.  I have also seen pets there anyway from time to time.  I mind my own business.  It has not been a surprise to me to see the man and woman come home with a puppy one day. It is a grey pit bull.  I wonder if they got a dog in hopes of protection.
     I sit here on my porch writing. I observe the treatment of the puppy.   Pit Bulls do have a reputation for being mean.  I see them carry the puppy outside and slap him.  Then they hold him by his neck.  Do they want him to learn to hate people?  Why would they want him to hate them?  Will he ever be able to be around children?
     The puppy is going to get bigger.  The man and the woman will eventually stop bringing the puppy inside and most likely chain him up outside.  It seems to be what they all end up doing. There is no fence on the property. Unfortunately, if they continue to mistreat him, putting him on a chain will be safer for the rest of us.  God help us if they let him roam freely.
     I don't have a dog myself.  If I did, I would treat it with kindness.  I don't like to see animals abused.  I don't think God meant for us to mistreat them.  I think they were meant to be our companions.  I think we should show them love and respect.  That is how you earn their love and respect.  And that makes them want to protect you.

Dog Days of Summer

     The dog days, I always thought, were those summer days so devastatingly hot that even dogs would lie around on the asphalt panting.  Many people today use the phrase to mean something like that- but originally, the phrase actually had nothing to do with dogs.  It had nothing to do with the lazy days of summer.  Instead, it turns out, the dog days refer to the dog star, Sirius, and its position in the heavens. To the Greeks and Romans, the dog days occurred around the day when Sirius appeared to rise just before the sun, in late July.  They referred to these days as the hottest time of the year.  It was a period that could bring fever, or even catastrophes.  Who knew?

Buddy

     Buddy was hit by a car about four weeks ago.  He died instantly.  He was loved by four families along this strip of road.  We all cried and mourned him.  He was a good dog.  He was a handsome dog.  He was only two years old.  He will be missed.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from the My Life with Dogs blog family.  The black dog is my daughter Karen's dog and the other dog belongs to a friend of hers.  The dogs are enjoying a lovely spring day together.

Two Waters

     As children growing up on a farm, we had our chores to do.  Farm work was easily acceptable, but it was the indoor chores that didn't' sit so well my with myself and my siblings.  We had rooms to clean.  But the most disliked chore was that of washing dishes.  For a family of two parents and six children still at home, there were lots of dishes to wash.  Two sisters had already moved out to go live in the city on their own.  But they came home enough to add to the pile of dishes.  They never got a turn washing dishes as they didn't live in the house.  Mother and Daddy never got a turn either.  Mother cooked meals and Daddy farmed.
     For the longest time, I could not understand when my turn came around why I had so many dishes to wash.  This went on for a long time until it was discovered that my older brother had something to do with it.  His turn to wash dishes was before mine.  He had been hiding the big lot of his dishes and bringing them out when my turn rolled around.  When discovered, my mother put a stop to it.  But, surprisingly, it was not my brother that showed anger.  He merely laughed it off.  One of the older sisters who had already left home pitched in her remarks.  She went in defense of my brother.
     "You're making too big a deal over nothing," she said.  "Your brother was just playing with you."  She continued, "At my house, dishes get washed with no problem.  I put my dishes under Two Waters."  She laughed, "He's my dog."
     I washed dishes the same as always, but kept wondering if I could train our dog to wash dishes.  As a little girl of seven, I was quite gullible at that age.  I actually tried training our dog.  I had no success come of it.  I laugh to this day, recalling that I actually did believe she had a dog named Two Waters.  When visiting her in the city, I never saw any dog.  I found myself even washing her dishes.
     I laugh at that whole incident today.  Why did I fall for the Two Waters story?  Although I am certain the dog never existed, I still hold memories of that dog that might have been.