A dog's life.

 

“You ain't nothin' but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

You ain't nothin' but a hound dog

Cryin' all the time

Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit

And you ain't no friend of mine.”

I think I can speak for anyone reading today’s “Snap. Shot.”— they have never lived a dog’s life. If so, would you please provide insight on what you were thinking when I would walk into a room, seek out a seat, and have you decide I was going to have to sit elsewhere. Yet, when you were hungry, you knew who you had to come to…and when I didn’t respond fast enough you were all over me to fulfill your desires.

Dog ownership has not been part of my life for several years, and even prior to the final canine leaving the scene, there were long periods of living in a “dog free zone.” Why did we get the dogs? It was for the kids who made promises of “walking, feeding and loving them.” They did love them, the other two qualifiers, if it were up to the kids, the dogs would have run away within the first few weeks.

At one point, and I will give one of our daughters credit for “sophisticated manipulation”— we not only got one dog, she somehow convinced us that having 2 dogs would make the other one happier. I didn’t believe it, but others did—-so we soon had 2 Boxers. One was extremely bright, his name was "Carter," and the other, well the genes passed on to his brother. His name was Cash, and whereas he was loving, his redeeming qualities were the ability to bark and pull your arms out of socket when you took him on a walk.

I do like dogs, and in general they seem to like me. I have had to pull back at times, even when I have asked their “humans” if they were friendly, but I can’t really blame them for not wanting me to invade their zone—they didn’t know me. We live in an area where there are many dogs, and probably the friendliest ones have the toughest rap on them; yes, there are many pit bulls in our area. Except for being very strong, they are actually loving and have a real desire for humans. Not to consume, but for companionship.

It is not fully planned yet, but when I retire, I want to get a dog. Not a small one, I want a DOG! We have some guidelines that will have to be followed, such as shedding, temperament, and of course being larger..but these are very doable and I know I would like to have a “buddy.” I have already been told, that will not be his name. So, I want “Woody” instead.

The photo above was taken last week at a friend’s house. I met “Bubba” when I walked in to the house. He was a large dog, he didn’t shed, and he was friendly. It turns out he was bred to be a companion for someone in need; I don’t remember why, but our friends were able to adopt him. I said a number of times, “This is the type of dog I would love to have.” I guess we will just have to see—right now we are dog free, but if we do get one in the near future, you can count on reading about him in “Snap. Shot."

Thanks for stopping by.