BarkingProse

When the weather started getting warm, I asked Jack if he liked ice cream. “What’s ice cream?” he said. The poor guy never tasted ice cream before. I ran and told mom. She got a spoonful of vanilla ice cream and put it in Jack’s mouth. I thought he was gonna cry.

His eyes got real big and he started slurping, then he ran his tongue out as far as it would go. He licked his lips forever and his eyes begged for more. Mom went to the store and got us Frosty Paws. It’s perfect cause it’s for dogs and there are four cups in each box – just right for me, Tess, Jack and Sherm.

Next thing we all had to sit in a circle. Mom knew Tess and I could handle the ice cream by ourselves, but Jack and Sherm needed some help. So mom held the cup for Jack and dad held it for Sherm. Tess and I took our cups out in the grass and held them with our paws. It was real quiet for about five minutes while we licked our cups dry.

I remember the first time I tasted ice cream. I still had my baby teeth. I thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world, and still do.

My mom knows a man who grew up on a farm. He is 94 years old. She asked him what his family fed their dogs when he was a kid. He said the dogs ate leftovers, and on a hot summer day everybody got ice cream, including the dogs. Pretty neat, huh? Gotta run. That fool neighbor dog is way too close to our fence.

I was thinking the other day that out of all us dogs at the house, I’m the only one chosen as a puppy and raised by my mom. Here’s me when I was still at my birth home in eastern Washington. I was the only blue dog in the litter but because I have the fading gene, I shouldn’t make my own pups. That’s how come my mom got me.

Five weeks after I was born I knew who was going to raise me. Oh, I didn’t know what that really meant, but I remember being told my new family lived in Seattle. My mom came to see me and held me on her lap. I smelled an older dog on her clothes. That turned out to be my Aunt Codie, who taught me much of what I know.

Because my mom is friends with people who have my brothers, I got to go back to my birth home and see my family once in a while. Here’s a picture of me with my dad, Bug. He died young, shortly after this picture was taken. Nobody knows why.

I’ve had an easy life compared to Tess and Jack. I’ve always had the same people around me. I don’t worry that I’ll get left somewhere. I’ve had plenty to eat and a warm place to sleep. My people even make sure I have toys and fun in my life.

My mom tells stories about me when I was a puppy. Nobody can tell those stories for Jack and Tess. It’s like part of their lives got lost along the way and they were reborn when they came to Asherpark.

I’m glad we’re making a home for pals like Tess and Jack. We’ve got room for someone else when the right barker comes along. I’m voting for another Aussie. What do you think? Gotta run.