BarkingProse

I was killing time on a poetry website yesterday – anything to put off working on my next Bark – when I got lucky and found this strange little poem by a guy named Billy Collins.

“Nobody here likes a wet dog. No one wants anything to do with a dog that is wet from being out in the rain or retrieving a stick from a lake.”

Billy Collins may have once been the poet laureate for the USA, but I could write better doggerel than that. Really!

I got to thinking about some of the most fun times Journey and I have had. There’s often lots of water and mud involved.

After a long walk when we’ve had our fun getting dirty, me and Journey like to stand real close to Mom and shake. Before we get ready to jump in the back of the car, we make sure to rub our muddy selves on her pants.

Once I’m in the car and if I can get away with it, I wrap my paws around her shoulders and give her a big sloppy kiss. She always wriggles away and mutters “Yuck, Finn! Nobody likes a wet dog!”

Liar! Liar!! She loves us no matter how wet and stinky and muddy we are. I know this is true because she’s laughing.

When I was a young pup I thought Mom was serious when she pretended to scold me and Journey for playing in the mud. You can see me in this picture looking real sad like I did something awful.

Right after this picture was taken, Journey told me it was just a game. Us dogs had a very fun time getting dirty and Mom pretended she was mad. No harm, no foul.

I was sure relieved to learn that Mom wouldn’t ever stop loving me, no matter how filthy I was. The worst thing that could happen after a romp in the mud was she would give me a bath. Not my favorite thing, but better than her being mad at us.

Journey thinks dirt is a good thing. Like in this picture. She says it shows her warrior side – nose dirt from after she dug out and killed a mole. Kinda like how football players paint their faces.

You might think this Bark is sort of frivolous. I wouldn’t argue with that. But I leave you with this serious question to ponder: Can you love a dirty dog?

It’s been a while to say the least. A hiatus as one might say, or just a heck of a long time since any of us at Asherpark felt much like posting a bark.

Journey really doesn’t want anything to do with BarkingProse. She’s busy talking trash to the silly neighbor dog and chasing eagles. She’s happy to be the subject of the posts but that’s about all.

Then there’s the big question – what do I bark about? Funny stuff like me and Journey goofing around? Serious stuff about life and death? How Journey and I are so different but we’re the best pals in the world?

I was moping around last night and Mom could see I was disturbed. She asked me what was troubling me and then it all just came pouring out. I have so many ideas in my head for BarkingProse, but they’re twisted up with each other. I start working on one thought then another comes tagging along and I get distracted.

Mom took my paw in her hands and looked right into my sad eyes. “Oh Finn”, she said. “You and I are so much alike. We both want to write and neither one of us knows what direction to go”.

Then Mom told me she just started studying with a friend of hers who is a big time writer. This friend even had a serious book published and she’s got a goofy sense of humor just like us.

I was still a little down and skeptical, but I thought if me and Mom worked together maybe, maybe we could pull this off.

I’m starting to get psyched. Life at Asherpark was always better when BarkingProse was up and running. So many mutts before me poured their heart and soul into BarkingProse. I gotta make this work. I gotta do this. I gotta…..