BarkingProse

I’m writing this for Ash. Poor guy. He’s had barker’s block for a week now. I thought he could get over it in a couple of days, but the longer it goes on the more defeated he feels.

I shoulda stepped in sooner, but I didn’t want Ash to think we’d lost confidence in him. He was doing real well, posting a bark every day in September like he promised. Then he hit the wall.

Ash barked earlier about Codie and her rose. He said Codie came to him from beyond the rainbow bridge and told him she would put thoughts in his head if he stayed real still.

Because she doesn’t wear her fur any longer, she chose a rose as her sign. Last week three new roses appeared. They’re a beautiful salmon color, chosen by Codie because she liked the taste of salmon so much. When Ash saw the roses he got real quiet. He started listening to the wind and spending lots of time thinking about the past.

I told him the past is inside him. It’s part of his life today. I told him not to dwell on the past but be grateful for the good part and forget about the rest.

I know something about having a past. Most of my life I lived with people who didn’t take very good care of me. I’ve got the scars to prove it. But when my luck changed and I came to Asherpark, I left the bad stuff behind.

If Ash wants to hear Codie, he has to stop trying so hard. He has to let his spirit run free and Codie will catch up with him when he least expects it.

Ash feels real low that he broke his promise about a bark every day in September. But he’s only a week behind. Tess and I decided that we can make up those barks in no time. She’s busy barking out a bunch of news right now. We’ll have to back date our barks till we get caught up, but I don’t think anybody will mind. Once we get current Ash can take over again.

Ash said he’s really grateful for the help. I understand that but it’s no big deal. You help your pals when they need you. They’ll do the same for you. It’s what makes for a good strong pack. Anyway, that’s the news for today. Stay tuned.

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.