Company

We've had several guys staying at our house lately. I think Mom is overloaded. She's doing laundry everyday now, and since the vacuum broke, she had to borrow one from her friends. Huckleberry leaves all over the floor, branches stuck in the pant pockets, leaves on RileySue's coat, dirt, coffee spills, cigarette butts...she's not even yelled at anyone yet. Wow, that takes some self-control!

Me, I love the company. Austin, the teenager likes to pet me and I just love him. I'd like to sleep beside him, but since they've got all their junk on the floor there's no room for me to sleep there. He even plays with RileySue until she has to limp back to lie down by my Dad's chair.
He's great!

You know, humans need patience when dealing with other humans. I've noted that there are always places where people can get mad or complain. But I think God expects people to overlook some of those little things. An old friend of Mom's once asked "Is it a big e nough hill to die on?" And that's a good rule to remember.

With all these men in the house, Mom has her work cut out for her as she tries to spend her days writing, doing errands, trying to keep the house and cook. But with a little patience, she can keep going no matter what comes her way.It works for everyone, even dogs. If I got upset at everything Riley did, I'd probably give myself a heart attack. So I just ignore most of it. Easier on my blood pressure.

Rescued!

Wow, this has been an interesting weekend at my house! Thursday evening, a pretty little black and white terrier mix showed up at our doorstep. Her name was Maggie and she was gorgeous! Of course she tried to take me out when I sniffed her, but I'm used to that with my current housemate Riley Sue. What is it about females that they don't like a male checking them out? Sheesh.

Anyway, she stayed overnight in the back yard, and Mom found her Mom the next morning so she could go home. The thing is, rescue is important, and not just for dogs. Maggie was lost. She had been a pound puppy like me- and she was so new to her house that she didn't remember where she lived. So she was really scared and nervous. Mom and my Aunt Allison fed her, gave her water, walked her around the neighborhood, and brought her back home.They had compassion on her.

People need that too, you know. We had a guest this weekend, and she really loves to pet me. (I love that too). I think she needed me- and I needed her too. I love to give people my encouragement. I've heard it lowers their blood pressure to pet dogs or cats. Me, I'd rather chase cats, but that's just me. :)

Rescue is about action, not about talk. That Maggie could have been run over by a car or lost and picked up by the dog catcher. She was rescued by my family because they love dogs. Rescuing people requires action too- making friends, getting to know them (you don't have to sniff anything, you just have to show compassion). So love people and be a rescuer!

Dog Fights

Remember the other day when I said people are complicated? No kidding. I was listening to Mom's TV today and I heard about a people fight that probably needs to have some dog wisdom.

Now, I don't understand exactly all about that Congress thing. Two packs of people, always fighting and barking at each other. Then there's the President, which I assume is supposed to be pack leader. But they're all just barking. All barking and no leading. And I hear that they are fighting over the budget or something or another. For a dog it would be simple: keep the food and the doctor, mess with the rest.

When a dog stands around barking all the time, people get mad at us. I think people are getting mad at the barkfest in Washington too. Nothing gets done when the barking gets going.

When I bark too much, Mom snaps her fingers and I stop. Maybe if all of you people snapped your fingers, the barking in Washington would stop? I bet if you did it loud enough they'd pay attention. Verbal commands and a big loud SNAP! And definitely NO treats until they are calm and submissive.

The Marvel of Friendship

We've had a guest over the weekend, my friend Micah.(Mom and Dad's daughter-in-law's dog). He's a border collie mix, and way too smart for his own good. And he's still a puppy.

While I can play with him, he does wear me out. He's less than a year old and I'm almost 12, so he wipes me out right away. But he's a fun friend. We don't fight, even when he snitches my treat right out from under my nose. My other friend Riley bites when that happens. In fact, she's taken chunks of my fur if I happen to snag a treat she's left lying around. For some reason, Micah isn't built that way.

For dogs, behavior is a training issue. For humans, on the other hand, it's a choice issue. Mom and Dad have some great friends. They're all really good to me and I just love getting pets. And they are good to each other too. But I know of some people who are constantly trying to use one another or be nasty at just about anything. I've met some humans who are always having trouble with their "friends" or relatives or neighbors or co-workers. They either haven't been properly trained, or their choices aren't good ones.They seem to want everything in life to be their way, or they can't overlook the human problems common to all people. Even I don't get THAT choice, and I'm pretty spoiled. Those humans need to look at the heart, not the stuff on the surface!

Real friends have fun together, and they don't fight all the time. They can talk about anything without judgment or bad things happening. They can share a treat without causing an uproar. Oops, that one was about dogs, sorry. Like me and Micah. We can overlook the other's problems and just get along. I hope all of you have real friends that can share your life without harming each other!(That might be a real good lesson for that Congress-President thing too, by the way.)

Humans are sooooo complicated!

Great Days and Warm Weather

Mom is doing great today, so thanks everybody for your emails. Her situation all worked out (I knew it would). She always looks after me, even though I am diabetic, so I knew she would help that person overcome anything she might have done to annoy them. She likes to be a friend. If my Mom is your friend, you have good backup.

Today is nice and warm at our house. Although I think my fur coat is a little heavy for the weather, I do enjoy hanging around outside.

You can hear the bees in the trees and see the blossoms...I love sticking my nose in them. So far I haven't been stung. And haven't had any ticks or fleas either. Mom says probably I won't because my coat is too thick for the bee to penetrate, and she makes sure I have preventative for the other stuff. Hope so. My nose is kind of sensitive.

You know, humans sometimes stick their noses in the wrong place too and cause trouble. We dogs can get away with it because we're supposed to check things out with our noses. Humans, not so much.

At any rate,for all you dogs out there, watch out for bees, ticks, and fleas in this weird summer. And you humans, watch out where you put your noses!

What Would Cesar Do?

People run into trouble sometimes and I try to tell them, what would Cesar do? That's Cesar Millan, by the way, you know the "Dog Whisperer."

Now, I know people aren't dogs. But I'm pretty sure I can help them out of jams.

Take Mom, for example. She made a huge mistake this weekend and inadvertantly got something really wrong. And the thing is, part of it was because she tried to rush it. Part of it was because she didn't know the whole story. But it really bugged her. She wanted to go hide in my spot under the bush in the back yard (no way, Mom, I'm not moving). She thinks she hurt somebody.

Cesar is always telling people to have good "body language" and confidence with dogs. Being a leader is about moving forward with confidence- and I think Mom's confidence got shaken this last weekend. The challenge for her is to move forward and not give up.

Cesar is always telling people to forget about the past and live in the moment, because dogs do that- with a little help. Mom needs to do that. You do too. You can't unscramble eggs. If you have things go wrong, you just have to do your best to fix it and move on. Every day has it's dog fights, or bee stings, so just keep moving! Don't sweat the small stuff. (I don't sweat, by the way, but people do).

Take a page from us dogs: every day is a new day. Make it the best you can. Don't dwell on the past. Look forward to your next treat with confidence. That's what Cesar would do.

Do Dogs Go to Heaven?

The other day a friend of our family ran into someone who was giving every excuse in the book to not do something he was supposed to do- and his main excuse was that he had to spend time with his dog. grrrrrrrr. THAT dog will be in Heaven for being faithful. The human, not so much.

I love my family. They know I'm going to be there with them. There are some other people that talk about me (while I'm in the room, even) and say bad things like "dogs have no soul" and "they're just dogs...". Grrrr again. My Mom doesn't like that, she knows better. She bites, so that's not smart around her.

Do you think animals don't know God? If you read Job 12, it says that you can ask us about Him. But the Heaven question? Boy that's an easy one. Isaiah 11:6-9 says it all.

All the animals on the earth are just like the ones in Heaven. Jesus comes back on a white horse- no animals in Heaven, huh? There are LOTS of them! Even in Revelation there are living creatures at the Throne of God. What, people don't get to stand right by the Throne? Just living creatures? And how about the fact that donkeys, camels, sheep, and cows got to see the Birth of Jesus- a bunch of people were invited to see, but only a few of them came. Creatures are blessed.

I think since we show people all about faithfulness, loyalty, unconditional love,and all those things- there is room for us in Heaven. Romans 8 says all of creation groans waiting for its redemption. And we'll get it, too. So if you hear some human talking bad about us, just tell them to go lie down and be quiet. Or make them go outside with no treat. That'll teach 'em.