BarkingProse

This is Jack with a happy look on his face after he ate doggie ice cream. Yesterday he had a real funny look after mom gave him some yucky medicine.

Jack wants me to bark about what mom’s doing to him. I was gonna do that a couple of days ago but I’m having a little trouble with my facts.

Last week mom grabbed some of Jack’s poop and took it to Dr. Brad. Us dogs think that is just plain wrong. We might bury our poop, scatter it or eat it once in a while, but we certainly don’t save it and give it to somebody.

Dr. Brad looked at Jack’s poop and said Jack had coccidia in his gut. Jack said he didn’t know he had house guests. Dr. Brad said Jack had to evict his guests and he would get Jack some medicine that would make them leave. It had to be a special tonic of some sort because Jack has dry eye problems and he couldn’t take the regular eviction meds.

Now here’s where I get lost. Dr. Brad gave mom some stuff called Amprolium. He said Jack is supposed to get a squirt full once a day for a week. The stuff is supposed to taste like chicken. I don’t think so!

Mom gave Jack a mouthful yesterday. His eyes got goofy big with horror. He scrunched up his face until we all started laughing. Then he tried to wipe the taste off that big tongue of his with his paws and slobbered all over the floor. I heard him mutter something about the worst ‘chicken’ he’s ever had.

Jack gets another dose this morning. This oughta be fun. As soon as Jack sees the bottle he’s gonna run. Maybe we can get a picture of his scrunched up face. I’ll post it later if mom gets a good one. See ya.

Tess is a funny girl. When she first joined our pack she acted like she wanted to get on the couch, but she wouldn’t do it if anybody was watching.

One day she took a chance and climbed up. She didn’t get in trouble so she decided it was okay. Now she spends every possible minute on “her” couch.

Tess doesn’t like other dogs on the couch except for me. When Jack wants some couch time Tess barges in front of him and blocks his access. If mom sees that she makes Tess leave Jack alone so he can have some couch time. Tess gets real upset if a guest dog wants on the couch.

Tess is real bossy about the couch once she’s on it. She doesn’t like mom sitting too close to dad. She’ll wedge her way between them so that she’s in the center. Tess likes to sleep on her back with her paws in the air. She uses the back of the couch to balance so she doesn’t roll off. Jack and I laugh at her when she does this, but she doesn’t care.

It’s funny what makes each of us happy. For Tess it’s couch time. For Jack it’s a ride in the car. For me it’s my ball. Small things. Simple pleasures. In case you’re wondering, this is no major bark. It’s just a glimpse into what our lives are like when nothing much happens. Gotta run.

I am so happy. It’s the feeling you get when you know you have a special friend. A friend who not only likes you but understands you. A friend who wants to hang with you whether you’re showing your good self or your bad self.

River is that kind of friend. I met him when he was a puppy and we hit it off right away. I like his older brother Wind too, but Wind is more serious and really doesn’t have time for me.

River and Wind were at the dog party when I started barking and couldn’t stop myself. I was annoying people and I felt sorry for mom because she didn’t know what to do to help me. She finally put me in my training mode and I got my good self back.

A couple days later River wrote me and explained that I was just yapping at the universe. River said once in a while we all need to yap at the universe. Isn’t that just the best expression? It’s exactly how I felt when I couldn’t stop barking. I had to get something out and didn’t know how to say it, so I just kept yapping.

It’s pretty neat that River knew about the universe and how we all need to yap at it. He’s only been in this world for eight months. I think he’s an old soul and this isn’t his first time here. He’s a really special friend and I can’t wait till I see him again. Thanks River!