Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Fun & Games, Terrier Style

Oh boy, I really managed to piss off Mom and Dad last night. I had been home alone all day - the dogwalker didn't show up - so when Mom got home, I had a lot of excess energy. Hardly my fault! I gave her lots of hugs and kisses and then we went out into the freezing evening for a quick walk, pee and poop. After stripping off her layers, Mom remembered she'd forgotten to take the mail in, so she opened the door, and OUT I WENT! I thought it would be a fun game to have Mom try to catch me in the bitter cold, and on the slippery sidewalks. Whenever she got near me, I jolted in the opposite direction and barked and barked, and laughed! It was great fun, but Mom didn't seem to think so. She first played along and even giggled at my antics, but then she tried to coax me in, beg me and finally scream at me. She even tried the Hansel and Gretel manoever...leaving a trail of liver treats to the front door. Good effort Mom! After a good 20 minutes, Mom was so irate, that I gave in and came inside. Boy, she was steamed!

Then not 10 minutes later, Dad arrives home, and as the door opened, you guessed it...OUT I WENT! AGAIN. Dad thought it was funny, but Mom was not amused and told him I'd done the same thing earlier, and "good luck trying to catch the bugger!" Dad was more fun then Mom, 'cos he made more effort to catch me...he tried many creative techniques, but I was too clever for him. It was only when Dad pulled out a piece of pastrami (Mom's cunning idea), that I couldn't resist, and as I accepted the bribe I was tackled and dragged indoors. I was then imprisoned in the laundry room as punishment. Mom had called for a spanking, but Dad bless him refused! My confinement lasted all of about 10 minutes, with Dad releasing me much to Mom's chagrin! I think I'll try this stunt again later...it was just too much fun!

Speaking of fun, I got the funniest email from Jennie from Indianapolis, who is Mom to Terence the WFT. Terence is obviously highly capable, as Jennie recently gave him a fancy title - Activities Director. She relates that, "He took on the title with gusto!" and goes on to describe how he ran "through the snow with abandon until Dad and Mom were exhausted. This activity included biting snow drifts as he passed by them, gleefully bounding through snow as deep as his underbelly, and sniffing the black blobs of ice and snow that had fallen from the cars."

She then goes on to name the rest of his activities for THAT day:

1) Cat Chasing
2) Refrigerator Raiding
3) Waste Basket Scoping
4) Pillow Toss (upending all the couch pillows)
5) Barking Your Head Off for No Reason
6) Cat Chasing (repeated as needed)
7) "Run, Run, Run"
8) Barking at "Pug Nation" (next door from loft window)
9) Playing with 4 Toys at Once
10) Rolling on Back
11) Preventing Mom from Getting to the Phone
12) Keeping Mom Company.
Activities that were noticeably absent from Terence's schedule were:
Grooming, Bathing, Coming When Called, and Sitting on Dad's Lap.

Boy oh boy, he sounds like my sort of pal! We'd have a blast together. Mom made her own list of my activities (from around 4pm-10pm yesterday) to compare to Jennie's as follows:

1) chewed 4 dingo chews
2) buried/hid 4 dingo chews in couch
3) raided Dad's tool box
4) teased Dad by removing items from tool box one at a time, and waiting for Dad to chase him around the coffee table to retrieve it
5) accompanied mail-lady door to door to help her deliver the mail (off leash!).
6) inspected trash collection on evening walk
7) inspected each yellow marking in the snow on same walk
8) escaped out the door twice for a came of "Catch Me" with Mom and then Dad
9) acted as master taster for Mom and Dad's evening repast
10) barked incessantly at regular intervals
11) undid Mom's ponytail at least 4 times
12) jumped up on dining room table to help clear off papers, gloves etc and distribute around the house.
13) Prevented Mom from using MY computer (as pictured above)

Finally, in today's post, I would like to pay homage to SALEM, Mass fireman, Richard LeBlanc, who saved the life of Pixie, a 12-pound terrier crossbreed, who was not breathing Tuesday when firefighters pulled her from a Salem home filled with smoke and flames. Firefighter LeBlanc gave Pixie mouth-to-snout resuscitation. You win today's Axel Hero Award! Capt. Alan Dionne said the firefighters' work demonstrates an important ethical guideline in the profession. "Save lives first and property second," he said. "It's always life first. And that means every life." Amen to that!

AGC, the incorrigible