Oh, Please, Please, Be My Valentine (Wag, Wag, Lick, Lick!)
Posted: Tuesday, February 14, 2012
by Jack H. Schick
I planned to go skiing today, Valentine’s Day. I take off work an hour early Tuesdays and Thursdays and hit the slopes for a few hours. I didn’t make it. My life is sort of disrupted this week. My wife of 40 years is in California visiting my daughter. She went out west because Sunday was our only grandchild’s birthday. Little Ella was three, and, from what I heard, had a wonderful day.
The fish and cats don’t mind being home alone for hours and hours at a time, but the dogs do. One of them had his first birthday today, Valentine’s Day. He still acts like a puppy, though. He likes to chew-up and shred things. I dreaded what I’d find when I got home after the 12 hour shift, but it wasn’t too bad. He had (I guess it could have been his older brother, but I doubt it), managed to get the butter dish that I’d forgotten to put away after breakfast off the table and ate a whole stick. Oh, well. I eat too much butter anyway.
This morning, I forgot to close the bathroom door and to lower the toilet seat. One, or both of them, drank the bowel dry. I’m sure it was the puppy, though, who got the toilet paper off the wall and took it into the living room. There was not one square inch of the carpet that didn’t have a tiny piece of shredded paper on it. There also was a puddle of pee on the plastic mat at the front door. That was probably the puppy, too.
It’s hard to be angry at them when they are beside themselves with glee when I get home. They jump and whine, pant and howl, and flop on their backs kicking their feet in the air. It’s sure not like the cats who barely nod “Hello.” It’s even better than the fish who just swim over to the glass and make faces at me till I feed them. It might have been pretty lonely today without the dogs.
I decided, instead of going up skiing and leaving them alone for a few more hours, I’d take the dogs for a ride in Jeep to one of their favorite places to run. It was a nice, warm for February, day—not the best skiing weather, anyway. We had a great time. They romped and played, got themselves all muddy and tired. I gave them a bath and a great supper when we got home. They’re laying there on the floor next me right now. They both are quivering and dreaming.
Valentine’s Day is about love, and, as another outlet for a human’s unlimited ability to love, is the reason pets exist. We can, perhaps learn from them. Unlike humans, they can love us until they flop on the floor with exhaustion, but they do not have the capacity to hate. Oh, was it so for Man!
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Great one, Jack.
I am wondering how did you handle the whole mess from the toilet to the living room ?? Otherwise, everyone is sweet and nice. Hmm.. not easy !I handled it all in a less than competent maner. I guess I'd get better at it if she finally threw me out for good. Thanks for reading and commenting
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