On Assignment

At The Beach

It’s that special weekend when I go to the beach with my brother Zag. It’s always the first weekend in October. The weather is nice and it’s not crowded. We have soooooo much fun.

Here we are first thing in the morning. We’ve been playing ball in the surf for an hour. Zag got rolled over by a rogue wave. He didn’t like it. I saw it coming and just floated in, but Zag went tail over ears in the water.

We get so wet and full of sand. We know at the end of each day we have to be hosed off, but it’s worth it. Zag’s little brother Rhett came with us. He had a blast in the water.

Here he is running away from the waves. He’s not scared but he doesn’t like to get wet. His nose is pretty close to the ground, so the salt spray splashes in his face if he’s not careful. He wants to be one of the guys. It’s not easy being the little brother, so we try to cut him some slack.

Rhett

Mom makes me and Zag pose for our portrait. She calls it driftwood art. She did the same thing last year with another piece of old rotten wood. You can decide for yourself if you think it’s art or not.

Ash and Zag

Mom’s busy wiping up sand. Me and Zag are tired but we don’t want to miss any time at the beach, so we’re pestering to get going again. The sky is real blue, the wind is blowing. We’ve seen deer and lots of geese. This is a really neat vacation for me and Zag. I’ll tell more later. Gotta run!

Mixed Blessings

Ash

My brother Zag is coming today. That makes me happy. Zag and Tess got into it the last time Zag was here. That makes me sad.

Me and Zag are going to the beach. That makes me really happy. Jack won’t have mom for two days. That makes him awful sad. I feel bad because I know how much Jack will miss her.

Dad will have to manage the house by himself. Mom says it’s a good thing he won’t have to worry about me. She calls me a handful.

But Tess is a handful too. Tess will have to share the truck with Jack. She’ll make Jack sit in the back. Tess will hog the couch and try to keep Jack away from dad. Jack will just let her have her way. He’ll be missing mom and wondering if she’ll come home.

This will be the first time since we got Jack that mom has left him. She wishes she could take him with us but it would be too many dogs and this is my special time with my brother.

I’ve been thinking a lot about our pack. Jack wants me to go and have a good time at the beach even though he’s already feeling scared. I can’t wait to go to the beach but I’m worried about Jack. I won’t be here to tell him it’s okay and mom always comes back.

I’d call him from the beach but he’s deaf and he can only hear with his heart. So dad says he’s gonna give Jack lots of attention. I’ll bet Jack gets extra treats and rides in the truck. He may even get to sit in the front seat once or twice. I hope so. Gotta run!

Something Lost

Tess

Tess has her own ritual at meal time. First she performs a pirouette. Then she sits politely while mom brings the bowl. Mom asks her to wait and puts the bowl down. Tess gives mom a big slurpy kiss on her cheek and when mom tells her “OK” Tess dives into her food.

When Tess does the kiss thing it makes mom a little sad. She says once upon a time somebody cared enough about Tess to teach her to kiss.

Mom says there might be somebody out there who still misses Tess and wonders what happened to her.

But when Tess was picked up as a stray she didn’t have a collar or a microchip. Maybe Tess pulled out of her collar when she got scared. She’s done that with us a few times. She’s a master at bolting out the door. Then she goes insane, running around like a little mouse.

I’ve asked Tess to tell me about her past, but she says she can’t remember. She says the panic of being lost and the horror of the shelter made her forget everything except the kissy thing.

I’m sure glad mom found Tess for me. I want Tess to forget how scared she was in the shelter and just be happy that she has a home at Asherpark. I want mom to stop feeling sad about what might have happened to Tess before we got her. The past is behind her and Tess says she’s really happy with her new life.

I think humans are goofy to worry about the past. Time to move on and enjoy life now. Me and Tess start over each morning. We never stay mad at each other over some silly thing that happened yesterday. People should try living each day with a dog’s mind. It’s much more fun. Gotta run!