The Mystery of the Poor Sore Paw

My sister Heidi Ho has had us all concerned because of a poor sore paw. All day yesterday she walked around on three legs holding her front right paw up as if she were one of those hunting pointer type dogs.

Mum gave her front leg a thorough examination and Heidi didn't seem to mind at all.  Mum rotated, stretched and manipulated the leg from shoulder to toes. She carefully probed the little furrows between the toes. She rubbed the paw pads. Heidi just sat there and didn't wince or whimper at all. Yet she continued to hold up the poor sore paw.  She managed to con an extra treat out of Dad by looking particularly pathetic whilst holding up the poor sore paw.   I was appalled!  Fortunately Mum was on hand to slip me a treat too even though there was nothing wrong with my paws.

Why was Heidi's paw sore?  Was it from battling tigers in the bushes?  No....no blood.
Was it from a vicious biting ant?  No....no swelling.
Was it from holding on tightly to a knuckle bone to stop it from moving while it was being crunched?
Was it from an overly exuberant bout of wrestling with 'moi'?

WHY?   It was a mystery.

This morning she bounced out of bed and the poor sore paw as no more.  A miracle had happened overnight.
Some mysteries are just never solved, I guess.

Old Habits

In the great Dogosphere there are several major forces at work.  The chief of these is the Common Knowledge or Accumulated Wisdom; things that all dogs know because of the millions of doggie spirits that have gone before..... such as the necessity of digging holes, seeking out treasures, chasing pussycats and possums, rolling in smelly things etc.

Mum is of the opinion that doggie spirits never really disappear; that they are actually released, restored and reincarnated.  She cites some rule about energy being neither created nor destroyed as the basis for this theory...Physics or Einstein or something...but she also says it is because dogs bring so much joy into the life of humans that one lifetime is just not enough.

In our house, the Common Knowledge is disseminated by the spirit of the Great Skidoo, a beautiful black Weimarana/Boxer, (real name Juno), who shuffled off this mortal coil some ten years ago.  Heidi seems to be the most recent incarnation of the Great Skidoo. Mum says that Heidi is alarmingly like Juno in her behaviours. Heidi seems to know a lot more than she could possibly have learned in her six years and is often able to offer instruction on the problems that beset a big blonde dog.

For example, when dinner was not being served at the appropriate time, the Great Skidoo (via Heidi) pronounced that a gentle hint was all that was necessary.  A beautifully executed "Sit up and Beg" manoeuvre from Heidi and a flying leap onto Dad's lap by me was exactly the right gentle hint. Dinner was served.
The Accumulated Wisdom triumphs again!
The Great Skidoo is always right.

So, the other day, when I was a bit bored because Mum had gone off to work and left us at home by ourselves, I enquired of the Great Skidoo what I could do with myself.  Heidi meditated upon the question and an answer was produced.  I merely acted upon the advice of all the doggie spirits of the Universe.


And that, Your Honour, is my defence against the current charges of theft and misappropriation.

It was the Common Knowedge, the Accumulated Wisdom....the Great Skidoo.....that made me do it.

YAY!!!!

MUMMY' S HOME!!!!.....finally.

On Saturday morning very early we woke up when we heard a car on the driveway.  Heidi became very excited right away because she knew it was Dad's car and started squealing and running around the garage.
With all that noise going on I couldn't tell whether it was Dad or not, so I just waited for something to happen.

Uncle Mike hadn't let us into the house yet because he was still asleep so I couldn't jump up to look out the window.  So I waited....Heidi kept squealing, "It's them! It's them!", but I was sooooo patient. I just waited.

And then the door opened......and there was Mum!   Oh!  Then I was very happy and excited and gave her a big cuddle and a slurp. Heidi was dancing around on her back legs, singing her "Welcome Home, Where the Hell Have You Been?" song.  Mum sat on the couch so we could both snuggle up to her at the same time and asked us if we had been good. Naturally we assured her that we had been totally well- behaved at all times and not to believe any stories about missing loaves of bread that Uncle Mike might tell.

Dad wouldn't let me help with the unpacking but I was allowed to jump on the pile of dirty clothes that was waiting to go into the washing machine. That was fun.

Now everything has returned to normal.  Uncle Mike has gone back to his home. Dad went off to work this morning.  Mum went to the shops to restock our food shelf. All is well in my world.

But...I am considering getting rid of those suitcases. If they didn't have suitcases, they couldn't go away, could they?   Hmmmm.

Policy announcement

As you are probably aware, our policy regarding cats has always been very simple and very clear.
One can either a) ignore the cat......not my choice as a rule......or b) chase the cat....need I say more?

However, Heidi and I have held a meeting, formed a committee and come to the agreement that the cat policy may have an additional clause added.

Cat Policy:  Family Associations

When the cat in question is part of the family it may still be ignored but should on no account be chased.  It should also be offered the same considerations as the family dogs.

So, with this new policy in mind we extend our best wishes to Reuben Cat who was hit by a car last week when he was wandering around outside his house. He has a broken jaw and has had to have an operation to rewire his jaw. This means he has to be fed through a tube into his neck and will have to relearn the eating process when his jaw is better.
Since Reuben's mum is a friend of our Mum, this means he is, by association, part of the family and therefore fits under the new policy guidelines.
Get well soon. Reuben Cat.

Heidi reminds me that there may be cats living in a place called Seattle who are also family by association because Mum and Dad know their humans.
Whoever would have thought that I would ever be referring to cats as family?  It just doesn't seem right somehow.

Stocks running low

Well, it has been a whole month now since Mum and Dad took their suitcases and left us here at home while they went goodness knows where.

We were a bit worried that we would have to manage on our own but, fortunately,  Uncle Mike, whom we had never met before, came to stay with us. This has a good thing because although Mum left us a million trillion cans of food, we are yet to figure out how to get the food out of the can.
Uncle Mike has taken over dinner service, walks, issuing of treats and game playing.  He has also kept up the collection of our you-know-what which makes me wonder if all humans have this odd hobby.

Now Heidi has announced that Mum and Dad will be back soon.  She bases this theory on the fact that there are only two and a half paws worth of cans....thats ten....left on the shelf in the garage.  Uncle Mike does not buy dog food.  He only buys food for himself.  So Heidi thinks that when those ten cans have been disposed of, Mum and Dad will come back with more food for us.  Heidi is a deep thinker.  She studies things, turns the evidence over in her mind and then makes her pronouncements.
So, we expect to see Mum and Dad in ten cans' time.

Oh No!!!

I said something was afoot. I told you something weird was going on.
I knew it. I just knew it.

There are suitcases laid out open in the spare room and there are piles of clothes on the bed.

I know what that means.

It means that Mum and Dad are going off on the High Seas or to Ha Why Ee or maybe Victoria or Cool And Gatta.....or somewhere......and WE ARE NOT !!!!

This means we are going to be sent off to the kennel again.   Pfft!  Pfft! Pfft!

Heidi has gone to her corner of the lounge between the sofa and the little table, turned her back and is refusing to talk to anyone unless, of course, food is involved.
I am just being super sooky and following Mum around very closely.  Maybe she will feel guilty, give up the whole idea of going somewhere and decide to stay home with us instead.


Sigh........

Something is definitely afoot!

Today is Friday and both Mum and Dad are at home.  Hmmm...unusual.

The day started as it usually does with treats and a post -treat snooze and then Heidi and I decided to have a game of tug of war.

                                                           Ready....set.......pull!

                                                                                        Heidi won.  She was very pleased with herself.


I was exhausted.  Tug of war is a very tiring game.

Dad went out to mow the grass and Mum was messing around with the washing machine and the bedsheets and stuff like that.  Everything seemed to be under control when I was pounced upon by Mum and taken outside to have a bath under the garden hose.  It was very undignified and quite chilly too. I was shivering. Mum said I was a wuss.

Then a quick towel down and I was put into the pool room to dry off completely.  One is not allowed inside when one is in any way damp...or muddy....or smelly. (House Rules according to Mum)

Heidi was also hose-bathed and eventually joined me in the pool room.  We rested and tried to get ourselves dry as quickly as possible while watching Dad washing the patio with the pressure sprayer.
Heidi observed that it was a blessing that Mum did not use the pressure spray on us.

Some time later we were brushed (which I really enjoyed) and issued with bones.

Now, I ask you, is this normal?  We are washed. We are fed bones. There are a million trillion cans of dog food in the garage. A lot of cleaning is going on.  Humans have not gone off to work as they usually do.  Hmmm.
Something is definitely afoot!