Sleepy Heads

I admit it. I'm a complete sucker for a cute animal no matter how hard I try to deny it. The morning ritual around our house is for Mom (me) to get up at the crack of dawn and make breakfast for the offspring (as we affectionately refer to our daughter). But first there is the dog. He won't let me fall back to sleep on the couch because he must curl up on his favorite cushion and my feet would be in the way. He will share, but I mustn't stretch out. The cat creeps half way down the stairs to check on the morning ritual of dog-couch-sleep-deprived-woman, but she wisely never ventures all the way down to the living room. She positions herself just in Jack's line of sight, so that he is driven crazy with anticipation that she might come down and play with him...she might...

The Wisdom of Hound Dogs

Everything smells good: that's the one thing you can never forget when walking a hound dog.

Not only does everything smell good, everything smells irresistible, mysterious, compelling and any other adjective you can think of that would require a noble hound to veer off course and take you with him.

Since Jack lives by his nose, teaching him to walk on a leash, and still remember that I am attached to the other end, has been tricky. We live in a tiny town surrounded by hills, and woods that are full of deer, rabbits, foxes, birds, chipmunks, bears and all sorts of other wonderfully smelly creatures. I sometimes think Jack and I have our roles reversed. I'm learning to heel pretty well, though, and have hope that Jack will soon figure it out from my example.