Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Life with Bogie is never dull

It's hard to believe I have only had Bogie for 10 1/2 weeks.  It has been an adventure.  Until now, I believed the Marmaduke cartoon was an exaggeration, a fiction.  Now I know otherwise.

There have been 10 trips to various vets,  2 escapes from the car at grocery stores, 1 frantic chase through the neighborhood.  He has taken cornbread and dog treat canisters off the counter, and an empty canister from the sink and carefully carried them outside through the doggy door.

I've cleaned muddy footprints off tile, carpet, and couch, and filled in holes dug in the rocks by the storage shed. My patch of grass now has strategically placed pavers covering ankle threatening holes.

He loves wrestling with Angel and is an enthusiastic fetcher, sometimes doing a hip slide across the tile when he tries to stop.  He chases the pigeons away from the bird feeders, which is good.  He also tries to catch the hummingbirds in flight, which would be bad, but he can't catch them. He is sweet and affectionate, loving to lean on people and be petted.

I've learned that at 15-months-old, he was never taught basic commands. He is a quick learner, but can be stubborn.  The most effective discipline for misdeeds is to shun him.  He hates being ignored.

On our walk yesterday, Bogie saw a cat hiding behind a organ pipe cactus and flushed it out. The cat ran across the street with Bogie in hot pursuit, ignoring my pleas to Stop - until he hit the end of the gentle leader. I had braced myself for the jerk on the leash when he hit the end.  But I didn't expect him to do a flip onto his side onto the concrete.  It reminded me of a skateboarder's wipe-out.

I felt horrible.  But he made no sound at all.  He picked himself up, trotted back to my side and sat down next to me to be petted.

It wasn't until 30 minutes after we got home that I realized he had several cactus spines in his shoulder and hip and scrapes on his knees. He very patiently let me remove the spines. When I removed one, blood started dripping onto the tile. I staunched the bleeding with a tissue.  He never once fidgeted or moved.  Well, except to look at the blood on the floor.

Life with Bogie - never dull, full of love.

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