4-27-2013 12_40_14 AM

  Tales of Hunter, the accidental pet

This was the first year in a long time that the Army base did not have a Fourth of July fireworks show or celebration. We have taken the grand kids a couple of times but last year was the first time they could really enjoy it. Charlie had staked us out a good spot in the  parking lot of the Officers Club and we had chairs and snacks and even had met up with our neighbors who were there to enjoy the fireworks too. In the past we took our kids to the celebrations of all the different bases we were stationed at. It was a tradition of sorts. Some of our best memories were of those times so it was with some degree of disappointment we planned a firework less fourth. This was also the first year we had a dog on the fourth. Did not think far enough ahead and plan for him and his anxiety. The same neighbors we met at the base were the ones who invited us to join them in a celebration at home this year. They planned for a good show. As we drove up to the neighborhood we saw cars parked on the side of the road and people watching the fireworks being set off in our neighborhood. It was quite fun and not just one show but 3 different ones in the same neighborhood. We enjoyed ourselves even if Hunter did not.

The Fourth of July


 

 

WHAT IS THAT?! WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?! I look around and I see grandma and grandaddy sitting in their usual spots. Not even reacting to the loud noises and windows rattling. How is that possible? " Hunter, calm down. It's just night firing on base. It can't get to you or hurt you. We wouldn't let that happen." How could you stop it, there is no way to tell where it is coming from or where it will strike next. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! I jump up and wedge myself behind grandma's legs and as far under the couch as I can get. Ratatatatatatatatatatata! Ratatatatatatatatatatata! Grandma gets up to goes to the kitchen and I follow close on her heels. "Granddaddy call him please. I would like to use the restroom a-l-o-n-e." She implores. "Hunter! Come here boy it's OK, grandma will come back." I'm torn. Where do I go? "Come here boy!" Grandaddy calls so I go to him and sit directly on his feet. This has got to be the worst night yet. "It won"t last much longer, so just sit here and calm down." He says rubbing my head and ears. OK, but I'm not convinced. Shortly after that all the booming and shaking stops. "Finally! It gets longer each time." He says. "I know," says grandma "who would have thought the base would expand so far out this way? I know we didn't consider it 20 years ago when we moved here." "Well , it's done now so let's go to bed. Come on Hunter, upstairs." OK I say but like it or not I'm sleeping in your room tonight.

"It's just part of his separation anxiety. He will get over it." I hear mom say to grandma on the computer. " he's the same way with thunder." " I know." Said grandma " but it seems to be getting worse." "Just keep reassuring him and making him feel safe and it will get better. Unless you want to hire him a therapist" mom says laughing. Then grandma starts and it's all downhill from there. I decide I've heard enough and go up to my room. Yes, it's my room now. I have taken the guest room. Anyone who comes over to spend the night has to share with me. In my mind at least. The reality is I get booted out. Oh well.

Since I'm new to the neighborhood, Tinkerbell feels she must educate me on the ins and outs of living here. One of the lessons was about how we live so close to the army base that when they have training we get the extra noise and vibrations  from that training. When I asked why, she kindly informed me that " it has to go someplace, silly." We are perfectly safe and not to worry. It won't hurt us. Her brothers just laughed and called me a baby. I have to admit that over the next several weeks she was right. I did get more used to it and less afraid. I never saw anything, only heard the sounds and felt the shaking. It didn't get any closer or worse, so I began to relax. I even got so I didn't notice when the big planes went overhead.  I started feeling pretty good about myself and dared anyone to call me a baby. Thunder and lightening were still a bit much but no one knew about that.

One day Miss Jackie came over and invited grandma and grandaddy to her house next door for a party in one week. The base wasn't going to have one this year because of budget cuts so they were planning one for home. "Great." Said granddaddy "We'll be there." The day came and I ended up in the house for longer than usual. Grandma and granddaddy were gone till dark so I thought they forgot about the party. Finally granddaddy comes in and says "Come on Hunter let's go, you need to go out and grandma and I need to get next door." OK, so out we go. I had heard music and laughter earlier and now I see grandma already over there and granddaddy left through the gate. I guess I get to stay out for a while. Cool. I hear people talking and laughing, kids running and playing. All of a sudden there was a loud whistling noise and a quick flash. What was that! Then there was another! Soon all kinds of booming, flashing,whistling,sparkling, glowing and smoking things were going off all at once. Oh my goodness! GRANDMA! GRANDADDY! Come quick!  Come now! Please come now! I can hear them. I can even see them in the flashing light. They are laughing and watching the THINGS. I run back and forth across the yard but they don't see me. I keep calling for them but they don't hear me. This can't be right. Tinkerbell said it wouldn't come to us but here it is! Why are they out there? More and more booms. More and more flashes. More screeching sounds and fire! I can't believe this, I have to get in where it's safe.  I run onto the deck and push on the door. Nothing. I push harder. Still nothing. Suddenly there is an enormous booming, exploding, light flashing wave that pushes open the deck door. I scramble inside, grab my kong toy and run up the stairs to hide. If they want to stay out there that's on them. I tried to warn them but they ignored me. At this point it's every man or dog for himself! Call me a baby if you want. I"m totally OK with that.

Hunter, Tinkerbell, Mitzy and Bitzy

Tales of Hunter, the accidental pet

As a military family we had to learn how to get along with people and start fresh each time we moved. We had to get out there and look around and meet new people. We had to see and be seen. That was my approach with Hunter. He needed to see and be seen. I wanted him to learn the neighborhood and for them to know him. I wanted them to know we now had a dog. If only for a little while. That sounds strange because it has only been a little while but feels like forever. Enjoy!


   Hunter, Tinkerbell, Mitzy and Bitzy

After a while people in the neighborhood got used to seeing me and grandma or granddaddy walking around. Some would speak and some would wave. Word got out to all the other dogs that I was new in the area and most were friendly and wanted to play with me. But grandma being new to the pet parent business wouldn't let me go where I wanted all the time and tried to keep me in check when I would run and meet someone new. She wasn't usually successful. I am a big dog after all.

One day as we passed Brutus's house and turned the corner these two little long haired Chihuahuas  came at me pretty fast. Both yelling in high pitched voices that grated on my nerves. "Hi there! You're Hunter right? We're Mitzy and Bitzy. We're twins!" They said in unison. "We heard you were new..." "... and walked the neighborhood with your grandma..."...wanted to meet you...""... and say hi!" " so..HI!" Argh! I had to swing my head back and forth between them to see which one was talking! They kept jumping up and down, up and down! It was too much! Squeaky voices talking real fast, finishing each others sentences . Grandma take me away, please! I can't stand it! Finally we got started back down the way we came and they followed us. I walked faster and they walked faster. They just  kept coming, kept talking, kept jumping. Where were their parents?! We turned the corner onto our street and as I looked back to see if we were safe, they stopped and said together  "Bye Hunter! See you next time!" and turned and went back to their house. See me next time? Not if I see you first you won't. As we walked home I heard someone snicker. It was coming from grandma's friend Joan's yard. Her dogs were laughing at me. " Hi Hunter!" they said together in high pitched squeaky voices.   " I see you met Mitzy and Bitzy. Those girls are a trip." The bigger one said. "Yeah a trip." Said the smaller one laughing. "I didn't think it was funny, why are you laughing?" I said. "They have set their sights on you my friend and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy." Said the big one "You are fresh meat and all they have to do is get their mom to come outside and talk to your grandma while she's walking you and you will be a captive audience. Since you're on a leash and all." Oh no, can't let that happen. " They think they are so cute and the world revolves around them and that EVERYONE wants to know about it." More laughter erupted from the two of them. I pulled grandma down the road toward our house as I hear one of them say " I kind of feel sorry for him." "Not me. " Said the other "I'm just glad it's not us!"

After my encounter with " The Twins" I tried to avoid going that way on our walks. It was hard because we had to pass their house to go almost anywhere in the neighborhood. We started walking down into the cul de sacs and meeting new people and pets. Once again most were friendly would say hi or wave. Things were going pretty well until one day a car pulled into a driveway down the street. We were going into the garage when I hear "Tinkerbell ! You come back here right now missy!" "In a minute daddy!" Oh great, another one. Why? Why does it have to be another one? All of a sudden there was a little brown fur ball careening up the driveway at me. "Ma'am . I'm sorry, she's really gentle and wouldn't hurt anybody. She's just excited that's all. She loves to meet new dogs all the time." " It's OK" said grandma " I just hope I can keep Hunter from inadvertently hurting her." "Yes ma'am. My wife and I've seen you guys out walking and it looks like he's walking you instead of you walking him." "It feels that way sometimes too!" I look down and all I see is hair. " Hi, I'm Tinkerbell . I'm a Yorkie. What are you? " 0h great. I said groaning.." I'm Hunter and I'm, ( hum, what do I say?) I'm a pit bull." Chuckling,  the little fur ball says "No, really." " Uh yea, really." " No you're not. My brothers are pit bulls and you don't even come close to looking like them. So what are you?" Sighing loudly, "My mom said I was a wiemeriner/ mix with some pit in there somewhere. " " Cool" she said. Humph! " Thanks". Why was I even out here talking to her? Girls are nosey, yappy, and bossy. They are sooo annoying and can't seem to leave a guy alone. Man, I just want to go inside. Come on grandma I want a treat. " Uh oh , looks like someone s ready for  his treat. It was nice talking you Tom. And you too, Tinkerbell. Say bye Hunter" Really? Fine. "Bye!" Finally! Can we go inside now?  Grandma pats my head and says "Good job Hunter. You were a good boy. You can have two treats." Alright! Two treats! Don't know what I did or why it was worth two treats but I'll take it. Now, time for a nap.

A napping dog is a good dog. A napping Hunter is a treat for grandma.

 Tales of Hunter, the Accidental Pet
Hunter tries to fly

I tried to fly today. I didn't really know I was doing it until I looked down and realized I was not on the ground. WOW!

One of my favorite things to do is chase. I like to chase things, animals, even people. That's why when I saw Brutus chasing the car I wanted to chase it too. At my mom and dads home I spent most of my days outside. I would chase anything that moved.A squirrel, a bird, a leaf. Whatever caught my attention. Sometimes I would find bugs to chase. They liked to hide in the grass but I would usually find them. I wouldn't even think about it much. I would just do it. There were other dogs around and the next door neighbors had dogs and we would run up and down the fence line chasing each other and playing. Sometimes mom or dad would come out and toss a ball and I would chase it or a Frisbee. We had a nice big backyard that I could roam and play in. Here at grandma and granddaddy's house the yards are farther apart and we don't share a fence with anyone so I just have to chase what ever shows up in the fenced area. Usually not a large variety of things to choose from. Grandma comes outside and tosses a baseball for me to chase and so does grandaddy. My favorite thing to chase is squirrels but so far I haven't seen many of those. At least not yet. The next thing is birds. I like to watch them take off and swoop and sway in the air. Here there seems to be a lot of birds. They like grandma and granddaddy's house for some reason. I know grandma doesn't care for them much. She says they make a mess everywhere and that there is a nest in the top of the chimney. She even has a fake one on the porch. It's a big owl with a movable head. Its supposed to scare the other ones away. It doesn't seem to work. Whenever I'm outside and some land inside the fenced area I run as fast as I can at them and watch them as they scatter into the air. I like that.

One big difference between mom and dads house and grandma and granddaddy's house is mom and dad didn't have a deck. Grandma and grandaddy do have a deck. Before, I could go out the door and right into the yard. Here I have to go down steps and take a right turn to get into the yard. Before, I could go out the door and start to run. Here I have to go down steps and take a right turn before I start to run. Before, I could jump on a bug right away and get him. Here I have to go down steps and take a right turn before I can get the bug. See where I'm going with this? Well this morning grandma let me out before she went to work. As she stepped back inside a bird landed on the top of the fence. It was in my direct line of sight. The perfect target for a chase. The bird looked at me. I looked at the bird. It started to chirp. I got in position.. I started after it at a dead run. It took only a couple of seconds before I realized my mistake. By then however it was too late. I forgot I had to go DOWN the STEPS. I went down them alright, just not in the proper manner. The bird takes off and I land in a heap at the bottom on the concrete slab. Wow! I'm more embarrassed than hurt. Grandma came DOWN the steps and made sure I was OK. She started laughing at me and hugged me tight before she left. "Hunter, be sure to watch where you are going while I'm at work, OK? Maybe you should just stay on the couch." She said laughing as she went out the door. That sounds like a plan. Flying is not as much fun as the birds make it seem. I will have to get better at remembering the process for getting to the yard though. Next time I might not be so lucky.
Down the steps, right turn. Down the steps, right turn. Down the steps, right turn.

 Hunter waiting for some birds to show up. The one he went for was perched on the gate.

Tales of Hunter, the accidental pet

My father has a dog. His name is Budd. Daddy got from a guy who found him and his brother on the side of the road. Budd is black with some white markings and his brother is brown with similar markings. Budd is not an alpha dog. He too, is very needy and always wants you to pet him or play or just scratch his back. When you do these things he will lean against you and lick your hand till you drip dog slobber if you let him. I am not a dog slobber kind of girl. I prefer none if asked. Daddy got  Budd to  stand guard but to also to provide some companionship. They would hop into Daddy's truck and go to the store or the dump or just drive around. One of Budd's favorite tricks is to run full bore at you then turn on a dime and land at your feet ready to be petted. Neat trick really, and he's good at it. Whenever I go to Daddy's for a quick grocery run or go to the dump, I will usually take Budd with me. He loves to ride in the truck and is very sweet sitting in the seat next to you looking out of the window .One of his favorite treats for riding so nice is Cheetos. Not so Hunter. Hunter loves Cheetos but can not for the life of him be still in the car. He is so excited to go that he can shake the car from side to side jumping back and forth between the two windows in the back seat. It can really be quite dangerous.  Budd and Hunter have not met but both of them suspect there is another dog because I can get out of the car and they will immediately do the sniff test. While Budd doesn't seem to mind, Hunter gets a little miffed and will let me know it. The day will come when Budd comes to live at my house. I just hope Hunter is at his house by then.  Enjoy!


Grandma cheats

I think grandma is cheating on me. I know there is another dog she goes around. It's my cousin Piper but there is another one too. I have never met him, and I say him because of his smell. Also there is black hair on her when she comes home. Piper is grayish and this hair is definitely black or very dark brown. She's probably cheating on her diet too. Sometimes she even smells like Cheetos. I love Cheetos. I don't get Cheetos but I love them. She usually doesn't bring stuff like that home. I wonder about it after she's been gone for the day and not at work. When she goes to work she wears certain clothes. They all look alike and hang downstairs. When she goes out with Grandaddy she usually dresses up a little. Or when she goes to Aunt Dani's and sees her grand kids, she will usually wear jeans and a cute top. Her wardrobe isn't particular to the other dog but I know it's not work or Aunt Dani's. So, where is she going and who is this other dog? I need to find out. If Grandma isn't a pet person how can she have another dog besides me? Where is he at? What if she has to choose? Who will she choose? Who was first? Does she like him better than me? Does she give him special treats ? Do I need to be worried? All this makes me nervous and when I'm nervous I dig. Or at least I want to dig. If I'm in the house I can't dig. Well I'm not supposed to but I can't help it. I scratch at the carpet. I try to hide it but Grandma will usually find it and then there is a big fuss. There is another man too. It's not Grandaddy. She talks about Papa and someone named Budd a lot so I think it might be one of them.
Is this other dog at his house? Sometimes she comes home all sweaty and dirty. She tells Grandaddy about how her and Papa cleaned up the yard or cleaned out the barn or went to the dump. Don't know what the dump is but it sounds like fun. Smells like fun too! She talks about Budd and how he would ride along in the truck. Truck? We don't have a truck! Maybe it's Budd's truck. It all sounds like a great adventure and I can't go. It's not fair. She will tell Grandaddy how whenever she starts for the store to get Papa's groceries or medicine, Budd will jump right in and ride along. He seems a bit pushy to me. I would like to ride along. I would make Budd stay home and let Grandma run her errands without being bothered by someone. I think I should meet this other dog and let him know she's a nice person and tries to be kind to everyone, but she's my Grandma and not to horn in on my turf. I may have to get Papa and Budd to back me up on this. Maybe I can get some Cheetos.

Budd riding in the truck

Tales of Hunter, the accidental pet

                                                                                                             

Too many times is life people make decisions based on less than sound reasons. Sometimes there is an unintended consequence. An abandoned animal. The amount of time, patience and money required can become overwhelming.Unfortunately it happens too often. The story of Brutus is not one that I need to tell. The family that has him takes good care of him. They do tend to let him off his lead so he can roam around the neighborhood or chase cars quite often it seems. That or he is a magician and his lead is like the magic handcuffs used  on stage. Hunter seemed to be fascinated with him and always tried to go over and visit whenever we were out. That is until they had this altercation and then things changed and both became very wary of each other. We walk on the opposite side of the street and they don't even make eye contact. I guess its a situation of who is the dominate one and who is submissive. So far Hunter has been the alpha dog and that's OK with me. Enjoy.

Hunter talks to Brutus


Ever since I heard Brutus's story it has weighed on my mind. Maybe he is scared and lonely waiting for his family to return just like me. Well, not exactly like me because I have Grandma and Grandaddy, so I'm not lonely. But I am waiting for my family to come back and maybe he is too. Maybe that's why he chases cars. He's looking for them. Maybe he's not mean, just upset. Maybe I can help. I at least have to try, right? Now I need a plan.

When we go out for our walk today, I will talk to Brutus about being an accidental pet. Maybe it will make him feel better knowing he isn't the only one. It makes me feel better. He just glares at us as we pass by and it makes me sad. When grandma takes me out I'm going to drag her across the street to the house with the fenced yard and when she unclasps my leash I'm going to make a run for it. I think she would understand. Grandma likes helping people and making them feel better.


Time sure is dragging by. It seems like Grandma will never get home. She went in early this morning so she should come home early this afternoon. Oh man...Come on already!
Finally Grandma comes home from work. "Hunter! Ready for a walk?" Yes, yes I am. "It is such a nice day today. I'm sorry you had to stay inside until I got home. Lets see how far we can walk today." So out we go. I need to be cool about this. I look for Brutus. He's on the porch as usual. I have to make my sure we go by his house on our way. I pull grandma across the street. She resists and pulls me back to our side of the road. I pull harder. She pulls harder. Wow, those exercises are working. I pull again and she finally gives in. " OK, OK, we'll go there. " Yay! Grandma pushes open the gate and unclasps my leash. I take off like a shot! "Brutus! Brutus! I want to tell you something!" "Hunter come back here!" Yells Grandma. "Brutus, I'm an accidental pet too!" I say as I run toward him. "Hunter! " "Brutus I know how you feel!" "Hunter, you come back here right now!" Grandma says angrily. I just ignore her and keep running toward the porch. Growling Brutus jumps up and charges at me. "Oh no! Hunter come back!" Grandma says. Brutus jumps on me and starts snapping his jaws and baring his teeth. Yikes! This may have been a mistake! I stop short and growl and snap as well. Grandma is running toward us and I am afraid Brutus might bite her. I need to keep her safe so I back away and run to her. "Hunter, what were you thinking? Come here right now!" Grandma yells. "Listen to your grandma, boy. I have nothing to say to you, I want nothing to do with you. You are not like me. Go away!" Brutus says as he walks back to his porch. Grandma clips the leash on and she pulls me toward our house. I could see she was upset and scared. " Hunter! What were you doing? You could have been hurt!" I know, I know. " You almost gave me a heart attack! What is the matter with you?!" I just thought if I could talk to him I could help him. I guess not.

The next day as grandaddy and I walked past where Brutus lives I slow down. I see him on the porch and he sees me. He gets up and walks down a couple of steps. He stares at me and I stare at him. We just look at each other and Grandaddy just waits. Grandma filled him in on all the excitement when he got home later that evening. We wait about a minute, Brutus turns and walks back up onto the porch and lays down facing away from me. We say nothing. " Come on Hunter. Let's go." Says Grandaddy.  I don't look back at Brutus. I just walk.

Hunter and Charlie out for a walk.

 

 

Something has caught his attention.

Tales of Hunter, the accidental pet

As Hunter's "guardians" until our daughter and her family come back and take him home, I feel it is necessary for him to know where he is and how to get around and find his way back should the need arise. So to that end I try to walk him around the whole neighborhood. Many of the families here have pets, the majority are dogs, and they all make themselves known as we pass by. Hunter will usually not respond to the barks or growls from those behind a fence, but occasionally we will encounter another dog on a leash with its owner or even one that runs up to the edge of their yard barking loudly making it known we are about to trespass into their territory.  Some are overly friendly, while others are not friendly at all. One of those is Brutus. Brutus was abandoned by his owners and taken in by a family in the neighborhood on a temporary basis, until a permanent home could be found. That was awhile ago and the family he is with has just kept him as their own. He is also an accidental pet.  Enjoy.


Hunter meets Mitzy and Bitzy

Today Grandma and I went for a walk down past her friend Joan's house. She has two dogs. Both just barked at me while Grandma and Joan talked. I just ignored them. They just wanted to make fun of me and I was in too good of a mood to let that happen. The weather was nice and Grandma was home all day today. We played and she petted me and we played and she petted me and we played and she petted me until she finally said we needed to walk. Fine by me, I was almost played and petted out anyway. I like walking in the neighborhood. Most of the dogs we see are inside fences. Some come out into the yards but for the most part it seems I'm one of the few who get "walked". As Grandma was talking I heard her say "... he just seems mean. I don't like walking by his house. I check to make sure he is on the lead before I take Hunter by there. Unfortunately we have to go by there to go almost anywhere in the neighborhood. Besides he always chases my car into the driveway. I'm afraid I might hit him." "I know, but he is really quite timid. If you speak loudly and firmly he backs right down." said Joan. "I have had to do that a couple of times when I take the kids for a walk." " That would be scary!" said Grandma. " His previous owners weren't the best. They even abandoned him. Just up and left him in the back yard one day when they moved away. The Jones took him in after a couple of days, when it became apparent they weren't coming back. It was them or the pound." What? Brutus? Abandoned? Who would do that? No wonder he seems so grumpy all the time. Always barking at us or chasing cars. He probably wonders where his family is. I know where mine are and its hard enough, but to not know and not know if they were coming back would be awful. " Well he still frightens me, but I guess its better knowing why he is so aggressive. Thanks Joan, but we must move on. Lots of walking to do today. Bye." " Bye! and goodbye to you too Hunter!" said Joan. So on we went. All the while my mind was racing. Brutus was as accidental pet too. How funny is that? I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Brutus I got blindsided by not one but two yapping hair balls.

 Just as we turned the corner these two long haired chihuahuas came running toward us, FAST!
  "Hi there! You're Hunter right? We're Mitzy and Bitzy. We're twins!" They said in unison. "We heard you were new..." "... And walked the neighborhood with your grandma..."...wanted to meet you...""... And say hi!" " so..HI!" Argh! I had to swing my head back and forth between them to see which one was talking! They kept jumping up and down, up and down! It was too much! Squeaky voices talking real fast, finishing each others sentences. Grandma take me away, please!  We finally got started back down the way we came and they followed us. We walked faster and they kept coming. Where were their parents? They kept talking the whole time! Didn't they need to take a breath? We turned the corner onto our street and as I looked back to see if we were safe, they stopped and said "Bye Hunter! See you next time!" and turned and went back to their house. See me next time I thought. Not if I see you first you won't. As we walked home I heard someone snicker. It was coming from grandma's friend Joan's yard. Her dogs were laughing at me. " Hi Hunter" they said in high pitched squeaky voices," I see you met Mitzy and Bitzy. Those girls are a trip." The bigger one said. "Yeah a trip." Said the smaller one laughing. " They have set their sights on you my friend and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy. You are fresh meat and all they have to do is get their mom to come outside and talk to your grandma while she's walking you and you will be a captive audience. Since you're on a leash and all. They think they are so cute and the world revolves around them and that EVERYONE wants to know about it." More laughter erupted from the two of them. As I pull grandma down the road toward our house. I hear one of them say " I kind of feel sorry for him." "Not me. " Said the other "I'm just glad it's not us!"

I'm in such a hurry to get back to the house I don't even notice Brutus. He is the last thing on my mind. All I want is to get away from the "Twins".  Once inside and my mind has calmed a bit I start to wonder. Could Brutus really be an accidental pet too? Could he and I have something in common? Could we be friends? I'm not sure but I know one thing. It has to be easier to deal with Brutus than Mitzy and Bitzy. Either way I have some planning to do.


Hunter getting ready to go out for a walk. Waiting impatiently of course.

 

Tails of Hunter, the accidental pet

I am not a neat freak. I want to get that out in the open. I have tendencies I'll admit, but after 35 years with my none neat husband I have turned to the dark side, if only a little bit. I am not one of those people who loses it if something is out of place or constantly goes behind everyone cleaning up as they mess up. I just like everything neat and clean. I can go for days and not vacuum or dust, at least I could till you-know-who came to live with us. I now have to curb those tendencies even more. The rate in which he loses hair is greater than the rate that I can vacuum. It is a vicious circle and I feel myself getting caught up in it almost daily. It will drive you insane. I commented to my daughter about the hair loss and she said " Well Mom it's not like I didn't know he sheds a lot. I just didn't care." Insane I tell you, INSANE!


Hair of the dog

"Argh! every time I think I have a handle on it I find more! My beige carpet is gray." Beeeep beep beep. Beeeep beep beep.

"What are you fussing about?" Asked Grandaddy. " I just vacuumed yesterday and now I could fill the thing up again with dog hair. How can one dog lose so much hair and not be bald?" Said Grandma getting the vacuum. "The Hair Club should really look into this. I'm sure they could solve the problem of hair loss for millions of people around the world if they could figure out how he does it." I don't know what she's talking about. It's not like I go around all day deliberately dropping handfuls of hair. I don't collect it so I can fling it around the house. What does she expect I'm a dog. " There has to be something I can do to at least slow it down. My vacuum is getting a lot of mileage put on it. And I'm not talking highway miles either." Said Grandma. " I'll just have to research it." "Oh no, not that." Groans Grandaddy.  "Every time I hear her say that it usually means someone will suffer." Looking at me he smiles and pats my head and says "Sorry buddy." Uh oh! I'm the one to suffer.

There is something about vacuums that just bothers me. They are loud and constantly move back and forth plus they eat stuff. How do I know it won't eat me? I don't, so I have to bark at it to let it know that I am not food and to let it know I'm not scared of it. Not very scared anyway. Grandma can keep it under control but I still worry. I've seen it eat stuff right off the floor in front of me. Some of it my stuff. It eats the crumbs left over from one of my treats that I was saving for later. It eats bits of paper. I have even seen it start to eat a small rug but Grandma grabbed it and pulled it out of its mouth before it could swallow all of it. Then it makes a high pitched whine that hurts my ears. I try to stay out of its way but it just roams all over the house with grandma holding onto its tail and pushing or pulling it. Vroooom! Look out here it comes! "Hunter move!" Don't worry, I'm out of here. Grandma vacuums downstairs so I go upstairs. I hear her stop, open the vacuum up, dump the contents in the trash and put it back together. She does the stairs and then brings the monster upstairs. I run downstairs. All the while she's mumbling about hair everywhere and something about shaving. Soon she is done and dumps the last load in the trash. She puts the vacuum away (finally) and sits down at the computer. There is an almost erie silence as she taps away at the keyboard for an hour.

The next day grandma brings home a soft looking mitt. It's supposed to capture all the loose dog hair on me before it falls onto the floor. Nope. But I did like the way it felt on my back. After that it was a brush. She brushed me everyday, sometimes more than once or twice. She brushed me so much I would run if I saw her with her own hairbrush. She got a special comb and spray, even a new broom. "The broom works best of all but it only gets up what has already fallen off of you." She would tell me. She would even  roll me down with her lint roller on the off chance it would catch a few stray hairs. " I give up." She said. " I guess we will just have to live with it." Thank you! While I enjoy all the attention, I was starting to get sore from all the rubbing and brushing. If there was a way I could stop shedding I would. I would do it for Grandma. She and Grandaddy have taken me in and made me part of their family. Besides I don't think I want to find out what shaving is.

 

 

 

Hunter waiting to get brushed. This is the only time he was still.