the collage
This morning I was late to work. Last night I got home late and went into the house through the garage (I can still walk through it via the narrow winding path). I didn’t see the package on my doorstep until this morning. It was wrapped in an unofficial, homemade box so I knew it was something good. It was wrapped REAL good with lots of heavy-duty tape. I tore into it. I had to get a knife. Something in a frame. A collage of cartoons, Mother Goose & Grimm by Mike Peters.
The theme of the cartoons is a Jack Russell Terrier. I own a JRT, Mowgli. Or should I say I share a house with a JRT who owns me? The lady who bread Mowgli calls them Jack Russell Terrorists. A close friend of mine watched him for me while I was out of town over Christmas. She has been around dogs and cats all her life. But never a JRT. I still owe her favors. Mowgli had an embarrassing, eye-opening run-in with her cat before I got out of the house. I figured if she didn’t take him to the pound before I got back it would be a resounding success.
If you’ve never been around one of these dogs, you’ve really missed an amazing experience. Very energetic. VERY! I don’t think he sat still other than to sleep for the first three or four years I owned him. I thought about cutting back on his food but never tried it. One time a friend came to the house to watch a football game. He and his wife had given Mowgli to me as a pup a couple of years earlier. In a quiet voice he pointed to the dog and said, “Look, he’s sitting down.” I said, “Shut up! Don’t bother him. Isn’t it nice?”
He’ll chase a ball until you and your ten best friends are exhausted from throwing it. He follows me around incessantly. I think he’d climb into the shower if I let him. Sometimes I think I should have named him Underfoot. The techs at the vet’s office love him because he growls at the vet. I’ve got a friend who has cats; Mowgli sniffed him once and nipped at him. I heard he nipped at a repairman at a friend’s house once. He goes absolutely nuts when the doorbell rings. He likes all the pizza delivery people. He even goes nuts when the doorbell rings on the Domino’s TV ad. I HATE that commercial and refuse to buy from Domino’s. He considers every squirrel and bird in the back yard as a personal affront.
He’s real smart. I can tell him to sit and he’ll sit. I can follow that with a stay command and he’ll stay. I can then toss a treat to the other side of the room and he’ll stare at it but won’t move other than an excited quiver. He won’t move until he hears, “go get it.” It’s his only trick. I tried to get him to balance a treat on his nose but it didn’t take. Probably because I didn’t have enough patience. He’s most likely smarter than me.
Like most dog owners, I’ve grown really attached to him. I know he won’t be around forever and the thought of his demise and my subsequent life without him is not a cheerful place. My friend who watched him for me made the collage. She’s a real sweetheart! I was late for work because I was trying to find a good place in the house to hang it. I decided to hang it at the office. The thought of being without my friend isn’t real pleasing either.
Thanks for the collage.
The theme of the cartoons is a Jack Russell Terrier. I own a JRT, Mowgli. Or should I say I share a house with a JRT who owns me? The lady who bread Mowgli calls them Jack Russell Terrorists. A close friend of mine watched him for me while I was out of town over Christmas. She has been around dogs and cats all her life. But never a JRT. I still owe her favors. Mowgli had an embarrassing, eye-opening run-in with her cat before I got out of the house. I figured if she didn’t take him to the pound before I got back it would be a resounding success.
If you’ve never been around one of these dogs, you’ve really missed an amazing experience. Very energetic. VERY! I don’t think he sat still other than to sleep for the first three or four years I owned him. I thought about cutting back on his food but never tried it. One time a friend came to the house to watch a football game. He and his wife had given Mowgli to me as a pup a couple of years earlier. In a quiet voice he pointed to the dog and said, “Look, he’s sitting down.” I said, “Shut up! Don’t bother him. Isn’t it nice?”
He’ll chase a ball until you and your ten best friends are exhausted from throwing it. He follows me around incessantly. I think he’d climb into the shower if I let him. Sometimes I think I should have named him Underfoot. The techs at the vet’s office love him because he growls at the vet. I’ve got a friend who has cats; Mowgli sniffed him once and nipped at him. I heard he nipped at a repairman at a friend’s house once. He goes absolutely nuts when the doorbell rings. He likes all the pizza delivery people. He even goes nuts when the doorbell rings on the Domino’s TV ad. I HATE that commercial and refuse to buy from Domino’s. He considers every squirrel and bird in the back yard as a personal affront.
He’s real smart. I can tell him to sit and he’ll sit. I can follow that with a stay command and he’ll stay. I can then toss a treat to the other side of the room and he’ll stare at it but won’t move other than an excited quiver. He won’t move until he hears, “go get it.” It’s his only trick. I tried to get him to balance a treat on his nose but it didn’t take. Probably because I didn’t have enough patience. He’s most likely smarter than me.
Like most dog owners, I’ve grown really attached to him. I know he won’t be around forever and the thought of his demise and my subsequent life without him is not a cheerful place. My friend who watched him for me made the collage. She’s a real sweetheart! I was late for work because I was trying to find a good place in the house to hang it. I decided to hang it at the office. The thought of being without my friend isn’t real pleasing either.
Thanks for the collage.
posted by steve | 2:01 PM
1 Comments:
Between owning a dog who needs ritalin and ranting at the deficit and the Republicans, I think I'm falling in love with you! Maybe my dog who needs Prozac and Valium can play with your dog who severly needs medication. Gracie not only takes every squirrel and bird as a personal afront, she has a personal vendetta against every car that turns around in our driveway. We've taken to putting Bendryl in chunks of cheese. She is none the wiser! When not protecting her domain, she sleeps a lot! So do I.
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