BarkingProse

I’ve come a long way since I arrived at Asherpark. The day I got here I was so distressed I peed nearly fifty times.

Mom thought I had an infection and took me to the vet the next day. Turns out it was nervous marking. I still do that sometimes when I’m upset.

I’ve got some challenges  – my border collie personality, red hair, and I was a stray. I go crazy around the goats and chickens, I bark too much, I tried to kill Asher’s little brother.

Mom says I’m too smart for my own good. Things have improved since I decided I belong to my dad. I still have all my bad habits but now I have my own person.

I lie by his chair while  he reads. I sit next to him on the couch and we watch the news together. When it’s time for my dad to get up I jump on the bed and lie real close to him.

Whenever dad goes anywhere in the truck, I go too. But one time he couldn’t take me because it was too hot outside. Mom felt sorry for me because I moped around for hours until he came home.

I’m afraid of thunder and gun noises, so mom got me some tonic from the vet to help me relax. I hate brooms and vacuum cleaners. Whenever I get a chance I bite the broom, even if it’s not moving.

Mom says I am real sensitive and she tries not to hurt my feelings except when I’m in the middle of a dog fight. Then she doesn’t care about my inner self, she just wants my outer self off the other dog.

Everybody loves Ash because he’s funny and easy to be with. People who don’t usually like dogs are crazy about Jack  because he’s quiet and gentle. Me, I’m in trouble a lot. Sometimes I don’t even understand what I did wrong. But mom says I have a good heart. She knows I want to please.

Every night before I go to sleep the people tell me that they love me. They tell me I have a forever home at Asherpark. Me and Ash, together forever. I like that. Respectfully, Tess.

Humans worry a lot about time. They talk about running late, out of time, time consuming, time critical. Every year they try to save time and move their clocks ahead. They call it daylight savings.

Today we stop saving daylight and turn the clocks back an hour. So when we got mom up at 5am this morning it was really 4am on the old time.

It takes us house dogs at least a week to adjust to the new time. Our bellies tell us when to eat, but mom insists we go by the clock. She keeps telling me breakfast happens when the clock says five and dinner when it says four.

I have a clock in my head. I know when it’s time to get up, time for breakfast, time to play ball, time for dinner, time for our evening walk and time to go to bed.

Humans worry about what happened yesterday. That’s so strange. Yesterday is over. Why let it ruin today? Mom says she wants to be like me. She says I wake up happy. I’m always ready for my next adventure. I’ve always got time to play ball or wash somebody’s face.

Here’s my advice. Life starts over every day, so enjoy it while you can. Doesn’t matter if you’re saving daylight or not. Think about it. Gotta run!

If I could stop time I would have done it yesterday. It was the most perfect day a dog and person ever had.

We got up early because you can’t eat breakfast until you get up.

As soon as we stepped outside I could feel the magic. A little sliver of a moon was bright enough to make shadows in the dark. The stars were right in our faces. Owls were hooting and I could hear coyotes arguing in the distance.

Instead of feeding us right away, mom let us walk around in the front yard. Usually I have to stay on a leash when it’s real early because I like to bark at the neighbor dog. But Zoey wasn’t out yet, so I got to run free without getting in trouble for my loud mouth.

Soon dad got up, the day got nice and warm, and our whole pack hung together outside like it was summer again. Mom played long ball with me until I got tired. She opened the back of the car and let Jack inside. He fell asleep in the sun. Tess followed dad around like she was his bodyguard.

In the afternoon the vet came to see the goats. Tess had to watch from inside because she went nuts. Jack couldn’t go into the goat ravine because he eats chicken poop and it gives him bad breath. I got to watch from the other side of the fence.

After the vet left us house dogs had our dinner. Mom made extra special grub for our slop bucket and we gobbled it up. We took another walk in the front yard, and this time I got to tell Zoey what for.

When it got cooler we went inside. Mom gave each of us a massage and cut some hair balls off me and Tess. Jack fell asleep on the couch while Tess and I watched the news.

Around bedtime we took another walk outside. The day ended just like it started. The little moon was back, the stars were out. The owl wasn’t up for talking yet but I could hear the coyotes yipping about something.

Mom put Jack to bed and told him how much she loves him. Tess grabbed her favorite spot on the couch while I had one last fling with my blanket. Soon Jack was snoring, the people were tucked in for the night, and I settled down on my mat next to mom. How much better does it get? Perfect!