Asher

We Are Family

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Ash

I’ve been goofing off while mom was gone. I tried working on Codie’s story, but my heart wasn’t in it.

The  only reason it’s any fun posting the DailyBark is cause me and mom do it together. Without my  mom, I’m just barking in the wind.

Me and mom are tight. She’s my best friend. In fact, I don’t argue when the other mutts call me a mama’s boy. I’m proud her and I are such good pals.

I wish my mom would take me to the ranch. I’d be really good once I got over seeing the horses for the first time.

I’d be respectful of the ranch dogs and not make a pest of myself.

Soon as mom gets back from the ranch, I’m gonna talk to her about our family vacation. Maybe we can all go to Best Friend’s sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

Mostly I want us to hang out together at Asherpark for a while. Jack will go back to sleeping in his big comfy pillow in the bedroom. Nellie will stretch out next to mom. And I’ll irritate the other mutts by tossing my binky around while they are trying to sleep.

I really do want to take a family vacation sometime. But I also love it when we stay home together. Summer will be here soon. We’ll get up early and listen to the owls. Then we’ll eat our warm breakfast. After mom makes her coffee, we’ll go with her to the studio and sleep while she writes.

Sometimes it’s nice when nothing much happens. I like it just fine when our pack enjoys the little things that happen every day. Maybe that’s because we’re family.

I gotta get busy. Mom is coming home tonight and I haven’t been keeping up with my barks. See ya!

Nellie

Where Are You?

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Nellie

I’m deaf and nearly blind. I look but I cannot see. I get lost in the house, stuck in corners, wondering where everyone went. I can always count on my mom to come find me.

I never had a mom before, at least not like my mom at Asherpark. In the dark days I was ignored.

I had this awful stinky pee trap infection for months before I came to Asherpark. People just thought I was stupid and couldn’t make up my mind where to go pee. But it hurt so bad I had to get up my courage before I could go.

First thing my new mom did was take me to the vet and get me pills to make the pee infection go away. I was so happy. I didn’t smell bad anymore. I could go pee anytime without worrying about it. I got real good at following mom outside and peeing as soon as I got on the grass.

One time the pee trap infection started to come back. Mom quick rushed me to see Dr. Brad and we stopped it before it got real bad again.

I haven’t seen mom for five days. Ash says it will be two more days before she comes home. Two more days wandering around wondering where to go, what to do next.

The men folk take real good care of us. They know we’re sad without mom so they give us extra food and treats. They make sure I go outside every two or three hours to take care of business. They come find me if they haven’t seen me for a while.

I want my mom to come home. I want her to be here when we wake up and when we go to bed. Maybe she could bring a horse home with her and then she wouldn’t have to go away to ride. We’ve got chickens and goats. I don’t see why we can’t have a horse too. At least a small horse.

Ash tells me not to worry, but I see he’s not happy either. A pack is supposed to stay together. A pack should go on vacation together. I know they won’t let us mutts stay at the ranch, but maybe we could find some cheap motel close by so we could see mom when she gets off her horse.

I really want to go on a vacation. I’ve never been on a vacation. Ash has. He said Codie used to go on vacation all the time. She even went to Canada before everybody had to have a passport.

I don’t mean to carry on, but I got to tell you I want my mom back now. I”m gonna close my eyes and hope when I wake up I hear her calling me,  “Where’s my baby?!!”

Hurry up, mom. Come home soon so we can pester you and give you kisses and sniff your jeans. Hurry home with the horse smells and the wild desert dust. Hurry home and stay here with us where you belong. Then let’s plan a vacation together for the whole pack.

 

Asher

On Our Own

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The Pack

It doesn’t happen very often, but every once in a while mom goes somewhere without us. She says she hates to leave us, and I believe that is true. But she leaves us nonetheless.

Last December she went to a dude ranch in Arizona. She had so much fun she decided to go back again for a few days.

Mom cooked up a bunch of food for us. She cut up thirty pounds of turkey necks for us. She fluffed our beds and gave us hugs and kisses before she left. But she left us nonetheless.

I can’t write any more about Codie until Mom gets back. Mom has all the pictures and knows the fun stories about Codie. All I can do is bark about how miserable we are.

Jack whines and moans when Mom is gone. Nellie is totally lost. She wanders around in circles constantly looking for mom. Then she falls asleep on the floor waiting for mom to come home.

We all sleep in the living room while mom is gone, in case she comes home in the middle of the night. There’s no way she could even get in the door without us knowing.

Tess is the only one who doesn’t care much that mom is gone. Tess still gets to ride in the truck and hang out with dad. Tess gets her special spot on the couch and all the attention she wants. It’s just the rest of us who are bummed out.

We really want mom to have a good time at the ranch. Last time she came home with so many good smells: the resident Australian Shepherd, the Corgi, and lots and lots of horses. Our noses had a feast smelling mom and her boots.

Every day that goes by means it’s one day sooner to mom coming home to us. She PROMISED next time she wants to go somewhere she’ll take all of us on a family vacation. Just like you see in the back of the car – us four mutts ready to travel.

When mom gets home we’re gonna mug her at the door. We’ll all fall down together in a big heap of dog love and forget about how lonesome we’ve been. That’s what we’re gonna do. It’s just that day won’t come fast enough. Hurry back, mom. We miss you!