BarkingProse

See the guy in the picture? That’s my dad. I don’t bark about him much because he doesn’t like to be the center of attention.

A couple of nights ago I heard mom asking dad about his life when he was younger. I learned a bunch of stuff I didn’t know.

His parents came from Norway and he was born in Portland, OR. He joined the marines when he was 17 and got sent to fight in Korea.

He doesn’t much care about money or things, but he really cares about us dogs. You can tell from the picture how he feels about us.

Dad doesn’t know all our commands. It’s kinda funny. When he gets frustrated with us he sort of sputters and mom has to step in and bark out the orders. You’d think he’d be better about orders since he was a marine, but maybe he forgot. It was a long time ago.

Tess adores dad. She’s his dog and goes everywhere with him. Mom rode in the truck with dad a couple of days ago and Tess was really mad because she had to sit in the back seat. Mom calls Tess dad’s other wife.

When dad was a little kid he had to go live in the country because his mother was Rosie the Riveter at the shipyards. He lived with his uncle who raised chickens. I guess he still remembers that. Here, see for yourself. That’s my dad with his favorite chicken.

Jack and Tess want everybody to know that our dad has a really soft heart when it comes to creatures. He used to carry Jess, mom’s first Aussie, up and down the stairs each night when Jess could hardly walk. He cradled Cornelius, his beloved cat, as Corny took his last breath.

Dad never gets mad when we get sick or have an accident in the house. He just cleans it up and tells us not to worry. He’s real gentle when he puts the drops in Jack’s eyes. When he’s done he kisses Jack on the snout.

Me, Tess and Jack want our dad to know how much we appreciate all the things he does for us. That’s why I barked about him. Thanks dad!

That’s my big tooth, in case you’re wondering. Tess asked me to bark about how we keep our teeth clean, so here goes. When Tess arrived her teeth were a mess. She must have been eating some kind of slop because she had yucky yellow scum all over her teeth.

Mom took Tess to our vet, Dr. Brad Evergreen. He said if Tess didn’t get the gunk off her teeth soon she would have to have her teeth cleaned. Dr. Brad tries to fix things naturally instead of jumping straight to pills or shots. So he suggested Tess eat some raw frozen turkey necks to clean her teeth.

Turns out turkey necks are not easy to find in grocery stores. Mom found some in pet stores, but they were real expensive. One day she asked the local grocery store if she could order some turkey necks.

Good thing for us dogs. They come in one big thirty pound pile all frozen together and cost less than $1 a pound. Mom spent an hour separating them and putting them in smaller bags and now we have enough for a few months.

Tess got her frozen turkey neck first. She got this wild look in her eye and ran off to the corner of the yard to eat her prize. It took her about five minutes. When Tess was finished, mom looked at her teeth and started laughing with joy. All the yellow scum was gone and Tess had beautiful white shiny teeth even in the back of her mouth.

I got my first neck that same day. My teeth were never scummy like Tess, but they could use a little scrubbing once in a while. Oh man, I loved that frozen turkey neck. I didn’t get a wild look but I grabbed it with both my paws and ate it like a popsicle. It was like the best dessert I ever had.

When Jack joined our pack his teeth were a horrible mess. Some are broken, some missing and the rest were a nasty looking shade of brown. The day he got his first turkey neck he didn’t know what to do with it. He tried to give it back to mom. She laughed and sat down with Jack on the floor. She held it for him until he understood it was really his. Then with his funny crooked mouth he smiled and chewed until it was all gone. Even his teeth got white!

So that’s how we keep our teeth clean and bright in our pack. Thanks Dr. Brad!