Family History

Codie

Last night it rained real hard and there were flashes of lightning. I sleep on the floor next to mom, so I knew she was awake a lot. She was thinking about Codie.

I don’t know all the details but our family history goes back to 1978 when she got Jesse, a black and white Australian Shepherd. He was a reject like me. His father and grandfather were the same dog, so he was like some kind of accident.

Mom raised Jess by herself and they had this incredible bond. Jesse passed in 1993. I heard mom cried a bucket of tears. Then a lady from a rescue group called and said she had an Aussie puppy that needed a home.

Mom said it was too soon, but she went to see the pup anyway. That pup was Codie. Mom always said Codie came to mend a broken heart. It’s hard to be sad with one of us little mutts chewing on your nose.

There’s so much to tell about Codie, but right now I’m trying to explain how everybody fits in the family. Codie needed a home and mom needed Codie, so Codie joined our family. Everybody loved Codie. She was a princess.

When Codie got up in years, mom asked her if she would help raise a puppy. Codie reluctantly agreed. Codie was thirteen when I joined the family in 2006. She was not at all pleased to see me. The first thing she did was nip me to put me in my place.

But true to her word, Codie did help raise me and I owe what few manners I have to her instruction. You probably guessed already that we don’t have Codie anymore. That’s why mom was thinking about her last night and woke up sad. I was there the night that Codie left us. It’s something you never get over.

Codie told me lots of things while she was still here. She said it’s up to me to speak for her and pass on her last thoughts. I promised Codie I would do that after she had been gone a year. That time is approaching. I will keep my word. I will tell more of Codie soon. But for now, I gotta run.

Nap Time

The Ball

Our friends came over for a visit. They really like me. Especially my pal Art. He usually plays ball with me and gives me treats.

But it was a rainy day, there was food and wine and the next thing I know Art wants to take a nap in the chair. The picture isn’t real clear, but if you look closely you will see his eyes are closed.

So how does that work? We’re supposed to be playing ball and he’s got his eyes closed? Not for long! I quietly dropped the ball between his legs. I heard people giggle. Art seemed to know everyone was staring at him. Without opening his eyes he reached down and tossed me the ball.

He shouldn’t have done that if he wanted to nap. Now I knew exactly where to put the ball. Oh, I had to be patient. Sometimes I think he really did fall asleep for a few moments. If I had to wait too long, I nudged the ball higher in the chair. Sure enough, he’d reach down and toss it to me. That got everyone to laughing and finally Art gave up on his nap.

This whole nap thing was a good lesson. If you’re patient and keep trying, you can usually get people to do what you want. I learned that as a pup. Just keep putting the ball in front of your pitcher and eventually the ball will fly. Think about it. Gotta run.

I’m Tired

Ash

Whew! It was a long week. My mom’s brother and his wife came for a visit. They live in the city back east and don’t get to see country life very often. They love dogs.  Good thing because I wouldn’t leave them alone.

I had to show them around the place and make sure they had a good time. I was so busy grabbing their socks and bringing them toys that I forgot to post the DailyBark. Sorry about that.

Mom warned them about me swiping laundry. Ha! I got plenty of laundry, shoes too. Tess and I put on a good show for them. We did our mouth game with Tess making all sorts of horrible sounds. That got Jack to doing his deaf dog bark. Pretty soon it was chaos as usual.

I could tell they had fun. They kept saying “No, no Asher!” That’s a sign they were paying attention to me. Tess curled up on the couch with the wife. Jack just kept wandering in and out wondering what to do with himself. I pestered my mom so bad she had to play long ball with me six times one day.

I was really sorry to see them leave, but I was getting kinda tired. It’s hard to be the entertainer. I slept most of yesterday. Didn’t play ball once. I know they’ll miss me. They will, won’t they? Gotta run.