BarkingProse

The day got off to it’s usual start, but mom was cranky and impatient with us. Each one of us had awakened her during the night for some frivolous reason.

Tess came in around 2am to say hi. Around 4am I poked my nose in her face to see if she wanted to play.

Our house guests, the three Labradors, assumed it was time to get up and started prancing around like they had to go pee real bad.

Mom reluctantly got out of her warm bed and let us outside. Is there a full moon? There must be some explanation for our bad behavior. I just don’t know what got into us.

Libby and I started playing rough even before breakfast was served. Mom feeds the house guests first, but she has to separate the packs before she fills the bowls. The labs were outside watching the preparations. That got Pepper so excited she began to howl. Libby chimed in just to keep her company and Maggi ran around in circles, knocking over the lawn furniture.

Once the guests were fed we got our normal rations. Us house dogs are pretty good about not pushing and shoving when the food is being served. We each have our own corner to eat in. I go first, Tess next. She pirouettes around and then plants a big sloppy kiss on mom. Jack just sits there and looks goofy.

Once we’ve eaten the packs get reunited and usually we go sniff in the yard or let our meal settle. Not this morning. Jack started barking at mom – he wanted to go for a ride. I said since when do we go for a ride at 5am??? Libby barks whenever anybody else does, so she started mouthing off. Pretty soon all six of us were barking.

Mom wasn’t real happy about that. She looks forward to some quiet time after our breakfast when she can sip her coffee and edit our barks. Not this morning. Things were so wild she finally put Jack in the car to shut him up. The labs got time out in the studio, and me and Tess stretched out on the couch for a snooze.

Mom had to take the car out or Jack would have felt cheated, so she drove down the driveway to pick up the newspaper. Jack doesn’t care how short the ride is, he just wants to go. When they got back all us dogs were napping. That made mom extra cranky to see us dreaming when we wouldn’t let her sleep.

Sometimes I kinda feel sorry for mom. She works really hard to take care of us and we don’t always return the favor. Us house dogs are usually pretty nice to her but when our friends come over we forget our manners. It’s okay. We know she loves us anyway, even if she’s feeling sleepless.

Gotta go grab a nap so we can get up early again tomorrow. See ya!

These are my three friends – Pepper, Maggi and Libby. This picture was taken by their boss when they drove across country.

They have their own pack, but when they come to Asherpark we let them join the house pack. Then there are six of us. Boy does that make for a crowded kitchen.

Mom says the extended pack is a passel of dogs. I think that’s a nice way to say there’s one dog too many. Well that’s in the eye of the beholder.

Tess says Pepper’s a problem cause she wants to sit on the sacred couch with our dad. Jack says Libby is always taking his favorite bed.

I say the more the merrier. I love having my pals around. There’s always somebody to play with. Besides, I can outrun all of them.

You might remember this picture from an earlier bark. It’s one of my favorites. That’s Libby who has me by the throat. It was all in good fun.

When the guest dogs go home I sleep all day. Guess that means I’m pretty tired. Jack gets his bed back and Tess doesn’t have to share the couch. But you know what? We really miss our pals when they leave.

They’re here for a few days so we’ve got time to get into some more mischief. Mom says three plus three dogs equals a whole lot of trouble. I have no idea what she means…..

Anyway, gotta run.

I am Frieda. You can see that I am advanced in years. I am the beloved companion of Janine and Anita.

My people have known my godparents since before I was born. As a youngster I was in puppy care at the home of my godparents. They were living in the city then.

Codie was a young Aussie girl in those days, old enough to know her way around a garbage can but young enough to enjoy me as a pup. She taught me how to play Aussie bump and run.

I spent summer vacations at Camp Codie when my people were traveling. The rules were more lax there and I got to behave badly like an Aussie.

When Codie was thirteen my godparents brought home a little bundle of fur called Asher. I despised him. I was already in my middle years and couldn’t stand the little brat nipping at me.

Now that Asher is older I appreciate his company more. Codie and Asher moved to the country a few years ago. Ash grew into a country dog there and Codie enjoyed her remaining years with lots of space to roam.

I was with Codie the final day of her life. I knew she was ready to leave us because she no longer cared for garbage. She told me not to worry. She said I had many good years ahead and she would watch over me from the other side of the rainbow bridge.

When I am very still I can hear her. She speaks of celestial garbage cans that overflow with treats and treasures. Your people miss you Codie. So do I. Your forever friend, Frieda.