Trust

Since I'm a dog living in a human dominated world I have no choice but to trust people. This can sometimes be scary but what choice do I have? Daddy says that if I develop opposable thumbs I can make my own decisions, but until that day comes I have to listen to him and Jenny and that means trusting them on a daily basis.

This morning after returning from my first walk I felt a vaguely familiar, itchy sort of feeling in my left eyebrow. Jenny must have detected my discomfort because she looked very concerned as she poked at my fur with her fingers. After smearing sticky gooey stuff onto the spot and pulling at me with tweezers she pulled out a tick! Yuck! How gross! She showed it to me for a moment before putting it into a glass jar. Ticks are so sneaky! In those brief moments when Jenny was pulling on my fur I had to trust her. I didn't know what was going on but since I know her and trust her intentions I allowed her to continue.

This evening Jenny announced that she had bought something just for me. I got very excited and my mind raced. What could it be? A bone? A treat? People food? (Well I really didn't believe it was people food but a girl can dream can't she?) It turned out to be a device called a beard trimmer! Now there is a lot about human culture I still need to learn but I do know that I don't have a beard. But it didn't seem to matter. Jenny said that it was time for a haircut and groomed me as she saw fit. While I didn't see the need at first I decided to trust her and allow her to trim away my beautiful red fur. Afterwards she told me that having shorter fur would mean fewer places for ticks to hide and would be cooler on hot days. Aww that Jenny. I knew my trust was not misplaced.

Trusting others can be scary but rewarding.

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



PS. Lesson#10 Trust your instincts and place your trust in those you love.

Street Food

Jenny and I were out for our usual supper time stroll when as luck would have it I spotted a hidden gem amongst the grass. I turned my body around and played it cool when I heard Jenny yell out a common refrain "Lottie! No street food!" Alas...my crunching always gives me away. Before I could react Jenny had her fingers in my mouth and pulled out a wet beige coloured blob with an orangey-red coating. Apparently dogs aren't supposed to eat pizza they find on the ground. I don't see why. It tasted perfectly wonderful to me. I don't know why Jenny has to spoil my fun. The strange thing is, once she takes it from me she doesn't even eat it herself...she bags it and puts it in the garbage. Why would she waste the miracle that is "found pizza"? Unbelievable!

But what can I do? She's bigger than me. Maybe I could think of a way to distract her? If I could only keep her attention on something else that might work. Or maybe I could try to chew quieter? Perhaps next time I'll gum my food for awhile, then when it's nice and soggy I could chew it super fast then swallow.

I probably shouldn't complain. Jenny tells me that I should appreciate the hard crunchy food we have at home. She reminds me that it is expensive and that "other dogs would love to eat it." If only I could talk, I'd tell her she should send it to them and leave me my street food.

Why do I like street food so much? Is it the thrill of the hunt? The knowledge that other dogs could have walked right by it and not even noticed? Or do I desire it because it is forbidden?

I really don't know, but if I ever become fluent in human the first thing I'll tell Jenny is "leave my street food alone, I found it and I'm going to eat it!"

With love & cuddles,
Lottie



PS. Lesson #9 If you know what you want, go for it quickly and quietly or risk having it taken away.