BarkingProse

It ain’t been easy for our mom the past few months. Us mutts have been driving her crazy. Me and Tess and Jack should be helping her but instead we’re giving her fits.

Everybody knows that Tess has been terrible since the California girls arrived. She’s got this mad-on for Shiloh and tries to kill Shiloh every chance she gets.

Mom says that Tess can’t be trusted around Shiloh. That’s wrong. You absolutely can trust Tess to pick a fight with Shiloh.

Jack’s getting older and maybe a little slow minded. He’s taken to showering the couch every morning even if mom lets him out right away to do his business. Our friends help mom find the other places that Jack has pissed. Yesterday it was the door into the master bedroom. This morning it was the guest bathroom.

When we first got Jack through Old Dog Haven, he marked the whole house. Funny thing is mom never saw him do it. She tried everything to catch him in the act, but he’s so stealthy nobody but me ever sees him do it.

Mom washes the rugs and sprays some kinda miracle solution everywhere, but you can still smell Jack. Personally, I love the fragrance of dried piss – mom, not so much.

Okay, so I’ve been ratting out Tess and Jack. Now I gotta confess what I’m doing to make mom crazy. I’m back to my adventures in the ravine. We had a lot of rabbits this year that made tiny little tunnels under the fence. Turns out it’s not that hard to enlarge their tunnels and Voila! I’m on the other side of the fence.

It’s not like I won’t come back, but mom knows there’s all sorts of trouble I can find in the ravine. I know we got raccoons, coyotes, possum, and maybe bobcats. Mom thinks I’m dumb enough to introduce myself to these neighbors, kinda like a rich kid trying to say hi to the gangsters in the ghetto. I’m not sure I’d do that but I can’t say for sure I wouldn’t. Last night the coyotes were having a howl fest and I sure felt like joining them.

One time I dug out on a side of the fence with no gates. It was a pretty tight squeeze. When I got to the other side I realized I couldn’t get back under the fence. We had some visitors who thought it was hilarious. One of the ladies did search and rescue stuff and suggested mom grab a shovel and dig me a return tunnel. The guys thought that was too much work and dragged me back under the fence. Whew! I was a little scratched up but sure had a good time while I was loose.

With all this chaos you’d think maybe the new girls would start acting up. Nope! They’re the best dogs in the pack. They don’t bark and carry on, they never have accidents in the house, and they try real hard to get along with everybody. I love hanging out with them. You know what? I think Mama has a crush on me.

The girls are gaining weight and confidence. A couple of days ago Shiloh invited me to play. That was so cool. I did my whirling dervish and almost knocked her over. Once in a while Shiloh swipes my ball. It’s okay. That sorry little mutt never had much of a chance to play and be happy. She can have my squeaky ball anytime.

So much for true confessions. It’s mom’s birthday today and us mutts are gonna help her celebrate. We got company coming and special treats. Maybe mom will take us all down to see the alpacas. We’re gonna have a fun day. Woof!

 

If you go way back in The DailyBark you can read about an extraordinary dog named Cody. He was a service dog who took care of our friend.

We used to call him Codyboy to distinguish him from my beloved aunt, Codiegirl. Codyboy and Codiegirl were friends long before I was born.

When Cody’s mom was in the hospital years ago, Cody stayed with us and went to work with mom each day. Me and him became great pals and used to play together when he wasn’t wearing his service vest.

A few weeks ago Cody suddenly had a seizure and had to be rushed to the dog hospital. His mom saved his life by giving him CPR.

The doctors said Cody had a tumor that was pushing on his brain. There was nothing that could save his life. He was in the hospital a bunch of days until he got strong enough to go home.

Cody and his mom spent every minute together when he got out of the hospital. It was such a bittersweet time celebrating every little thing while knowing the end was near.

After a few days Cody told his mom it was time to let him go. One of his last wishes was to come to Asherpark and walk where Codiegirl had walked on her last day.

Even though he was awful sick, Cody stood as tall as he could and made his way to the pasture where him and me used to chase goats. The goats are long gone but we have some funny little alpacas now.

Cody put on his happy face because that’s how he wanted everybody to remember him. He summoned his border collie self and gave the alpacas a good dose of stink eye. You can see for yourself the alpacas were impressed.

We all said goodbye to Cody as he proudly got in the car for his last ride. My heart was screaming. We were all crying.

Just before he left mom whispered in his ear, “Go find Codiegirl. She’s been waiting for you.”

When a special dog leaves this world the sadness is terrible. But when that special dog has been by your side 24/7 and taken care of you for many years, the loss is overwhelming.

Cody’s mom was crushed with grief. She lost her best friend and her helper dog. No dog can ever replace Cody. In time there will be other dogs but there will never be another Cody.

Farewell Cody. When you sailed off into the big unknown you took a piece of our hearts with you. Be well, my fine friend.

 

This ain’t no easy bark for me. That’s why I’ve been silent for so long. Our pack has gone through some big time changes and we’re all still trying to wrap our heads around what happened.

The Troubles started in April when we brought Mama and Shiloh into our pack. They were the sorriest dogs we ever saw and there was no question they needed a place to hang out and get better.

Before we agreed to take them, mom asked us if it was okay to bring the California girls to Asherpark . Me and Jack said sure. Tess said she supposed it was the right thing to do.

We had a brief honeymoon when all five of us got along and then The Troubles started. It began when little Shiloh growled at Tess for getting too close to Mama. Tess went off like a heat seeking missile and pounced on Shiloh. Dad grabbed Tess and gave her a good talking to.

One thing led to another and whenever Tess and Shiloh came face to face Shiloh would growl or show her teeth and the fight was on. Funny thing was Tess never bit Shiloh or used her teeth on her, but the noise was terrible.

Pretty soon we were all walking on eggshells. Tess went through intensive training and learned all sorts of handy things, but she never learned to leave Shiloh alone. Me and mom tried to get Shiloh to stop making faces at Tess, but it didn’t work.

One day Tess and Shiloh got into it right at mom’s feet. When mom tried to separate them she got bit real bad. There was lots of bad language and blood everywhere. Tess went into the time out box while we mopped up the blood and tended to mom’s fingers.

I’ve never seen mom so sad. It didn’t help that her fingers were aching like nobody’s business. She said she couldn’t bear to give up on Mama and Shiloh and she didn’t know what to do for Tess.

For the next few weeks we lived parallel lives. Shiloh and Tess could never be together unless Tess was on a leash. Let me tell you, that was no easy time trying to live a normal life with a psychopath like Tess.

I tried talking to Tess, but she could only hear me through her crazy redhead side. Tess told me she was the alpha female of the pack and she wasn’t going to tolerate some used up little mutt being disrespectful.

I said, “Tess, everyone knows you run the place. Shiloh doesn’t want to be boss dog, she just wants you to give her a little space.”

Tess looked at me with a mixture of pity and disgust.

“You just don’t get it, Ash. I have to be in control. It’s the border collie in me. I will never be happy at Asherpark with Shiloh here.”

I was so sad I hung my head and tears dribbled down my snout. I knew in my heart that Tess was right and either she or Shiloh would have to go.

But how could we send little Shiloh and Mama away after what they had been through? And how could we ever let Tess go when we all love her so much?

Tess ran off to give Shiloh the stink eye through the fence while me and mom sat real still. Big changes were in the wind but we didn’t know which way the wind would blow.