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View From The Paw (Cont'd)
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VIEW FROM THE PAW!
Previous View From The Paw Blogs July 30 2010 Reading Faces I am getting used to the new fence. I am not getting used to the weather-especially
thunderstorms-especially thunderstorms that knock out power! We lost ours. All of a sudden it went dark, got
quiet, and most of all, felt really hot!!! I have lived with air-conditioning my whole big, black furry life.
To be without it was a new. very unpleasant experience. My owner Mom saw me panting. She made the decision to send me to where I was born and where I stay when everyone goes away. When we got there I heard my owner Mom talk about the weather. I heard her say that she and my owner Dad and owner Boy could handle the humidity and high temperatures, but not me. I felt bad. I love being with my owner family. But, it’s true that I do not do well in the heat. And my owner Mom knew. My owner Dad says I am very lucky to have my owner Mom. He says that she really loves and understands me. She can tell exactly what is going on with me by just looking at my face. I have heard my owner Mom say there is no real difference between reading the face of a canine and the face of a human. She says love, sadness, joy and fear come through the eyes and the mouth. My owner boy says he can tell when I am laughing! My owner Mom saw me looking sad because of the fence, the heat, and having to stay indoors. She saw me scared because of the thunderstorms. But, she also got to see me very happy. When we arrived at my home away from home, I bounded out of the car. I went running to the entrance. I could not wait to see my friends and hang out all day together! I can read faces too! I could see my owner Mom really smiling. She gave me a big hug good-bye. Then, I went, tail wagging, to play with my friends in air-conditioning! And the best part? I knew whenever the power came back on, my owner Mom would come back for me. I knew I would come bounding out, tail wagging, to greet her. And she would have arms wide open and be really smiling again! I hope that is what happens to owner Moms’ children when they go off to camp. I hope they know they can miss their families but still have fun away from them. Maybe one day I can go to a human camp. It would be so-o-o much fun to stay in a cabin ,on a bunk bed--but, only if there is air-conditioning and the counselors smile a lot! Have a ‘cool’ weekend Tonka July 23 2010 My Room is Gone! I had nothing to do with the coming of my white picket fence. It was put up for my predecessor who was a Bernese Mountain Dog and a natural babysitter and wouldn’t hurt a fly-so my owner Mom liked to say. But he weighed 120 pounds, with thick black fur, and a full white chest, and huge paws, and the mail people were terrified of him! So, according to legend, they not only refused to deliver mail to my owner mom, they refused to deliver mail to the home on the left and right of her. She complained to the post office. She spoke to a manager. She offered to give dog safety seminars to the neighborhood mail carriers who came bearing horror stories about us canines, and were hopeless in telling the difference between an attack dog and a wuss! In the end, she had to put up a fence--the first and only one on our block. It was a short white picket. It was there when I was brought home. Humans have asked ever since whether my owner Mom was concerned that I would jump over it. I am clearly able to. No, she would reply wisely. It has always been there. He likes and respects it. My owner mom really knows me. My white picket fence became very well known. It identified our home and me. I would run up to it to bark at things that went bump in the night. I would run along it to greet other canines. I would put my nose between the pickets to watch my owner Mom go off in the car and I would jump on it to let children pet me. I will not lie. I would also jump up on it and bark at other dogs or strangers just to let them now this was my territory not to be crossed unless my owner Mom said it was ok. But, I pushed up against it a lot. It also started to rot. The pickets came out, and the snow very nearly destroyed it. I heard my owner Mom talk about a new fence. They came today. I had to stay inside and watch. This is a totally different fence. Taller. Thinner slates, and thicker posts. I miss my white picket fence. No one asked me what I thought about throwing it away, then replacing it. The front lawn is like my room. That fence was like my walls and door. It was familiar. It made me feel cozy and safe and not closed in. I do not know what to think of this new one. I saw them take apart my white picket fence and throw big sections of it into a truck. Then they drove away. They will come back tomorrow to finish. But my room has disappeared. All my familiar smells gone. My white picket fence is gone forever. My owner Mom knows I am very sad and confused. She says it will all be
all right. I hope so. Have a cozy weekend, Tonka  July 16 2010 Chick Magnet & Matchmaker! Last night my owner Mom saw how sad I looked since it has been too hot to sit
or play outside so she suggested we all go for gelato and walk around. Oh boy, as soon as I heard I was going in
the car with everyone, I knew where we were headed! I got very excited! We parked the car on one of the main streets. There were lots and lots of people walking around. We started to walk towards the gelato place and it started-Oh, he’s so cute, can I pet him? Oh, he’s beautiful, what’s his name? We sat outside on benches and my owner Mom let me have some vanilla in a cup-yum!!! Well, that attracted even more attention. Oh, look at him eating ice cream, that’s great! Does he come here a lot? Then we went to the bookstore and while everyone looked at books, I stretched out on the cool floor. It wasn’t long before more girls came up and asked my owner Mom-Is he friendly? Oh, he looks so sweet! Can I pet him? I got so many tummy rubs! Some of the girls were really cute and some of the women were really pretty! All of them were really nice and friendly! But, my owner boy has a serious girlfriend in California and my owner Dad and owner Mom are happily married! So I thought, what a waste! If I gave up being a gumpaw and spying on nannies in the park, I could become a matchmaker!!! Now that would be fun! All I would have to do is sit some place central, and let singles know they could come and pet me and meet each other at the same time! Much healthier than mall or bar hopping! (I overhear all about this hopping from my owner Mom). And forget Match.com, and E-Harmony!!! (I have seen those commercials on television!) If two people like dogs, what more is there to worry about! One question! Do you like dogs! Humans over complicate relationships. They should let us canines
set the standards! And then they should follow our lead! Good Humans need so much help finding each other that this idea of being match-maker is really growing on me! I would be more than happy to donate my time, and my tummy for such a good cause!!! Rolling over backwards in the dog days of summer to bring humans together! Love, Tonka!
July 2 2010 Oh my goodness! I was so excited! Not only did we have a day without humidity, but I got invited out to dinner with my family and a friend who was going off to live in a place called San Francisco. We had a terrific corner table outside where I could curl up and watch the goings on. It was a beautiful night! I was not panting at all! This friend said she and her dad were driving across country. (I don’t really know what that means except it sounds very, very far, and takes a lot more than a few days and nights) My owner Mom said she would love to do that with me, but she didn’t want to do it alone. My owner dad could never take the time, and my owner son is in graduate school. So, she would need a friend. Maybe a friend with a dog! Wait a minute! Driving across country sounds like fun and I know I would get to sniff a new places. I love new adventures! But going with another dog I don’t know very well? What is this with my owner Mom with other dogs? She rescues and brings total canine strangers into our house and expects me to behave politely (see former blog) and now she’s thinking of taking one along on a long trip????!!! What if we don’t get along? What if our habits are totally different he/she got a second wind when I was ready to take my afternoon nap! What if I have to share? Treats, Food, Water, the car space? But most important What if my owner mom pays less attention to me because she has a friend and I have company? She hugs and pets me a lot. I nuzzle and lick her back. I Love my owner Mom and Dad and Boy with all my doggie heart. Do I really want to share my owner Mom for a long trip? It would be nice to go sniffing around with a buddy. After all, there are some things humans just do not appreciate about the canine world. I might be willing to do it, as long as I could still get all the attention I wanted from my owner Mom. I realize that there is one trait all canines share. We can have play dates, go to doggie day care, stay home or roam around outside, but when it is all said and done, We want our people. We love our people. And, truth be known, if we had our way, we’d be with our people 24/7 forever!!!! Have a great July 4th weekend, but please do not make us go anywhere near cracks or booms or pops! Come to think of it, that will be my interview question for a long trip mate: How do you feel about fireworks? There is only one acceptable answer to that! Tonka! The Rescue, Humph! Well how am I supposed to respond? There I am, resting peacefully on the porch with my owner Boy-who has taken it over as a study center for the summer--- and in walks my owner Mom with another dog! Right through my front door! Out of nowhere! Of course I am going to growl! I am not one of those dogs that simply wags his tail at total canine strangers! So, my owner boy holds me back, while I hear my owner Mom explain that on her way back from a mentoring lunch in the neighborhood, she notices a dog wondering about. She looks in her rear view mirror to see if there is an owner nearby. No owner. So, she circles the block and comes back to the dog. She gets out, knocks on several doors, no one answers. It is a record 100 degrees in Washington DC, this dog looks very hot, so she puts him in her car, calls the cell phone number on his collar and brings him home. My owner Mom has rescued wayward canines before. But, they always stayed outside in the yard. This one starts roaming all over my house! I growl even more loudly, and my owner Mom gives me a stern NO! I am not used to my owner Mom raising her voice to me. I do not like it at all. She tells my owner Boy to go get doggie treats. She tells him that this is an introduction to sharing. Let me tell you, toddlers have it right! Sharing is way over rated! She makes us both sit. At least this canine shows manners! My owner Boy takes turns giving each of us a treat. First to him, then to me. My owner Mom then leads us both onto the porch. This other canine goes over to the porch door and sits down. My owner Mom has me sit all the way on the other side. I am keeping a very careful eye out to see that he doesn’t go anywhere else. He settles down, and so do I. My owner Mom sits between us. Finally I hear the phone ring. I hear her talking to someone. Does this mean the canine intruder is leaving? Some time later, a human arrives at the door. She is very happy to see her dog, Not as happy as I am to see her! My owner Mom and this other owner Mom talk and finally they leave. Then my owner Mom sits down with me. I can always tell when she is going to give me some kind of life lesson. She pets me, looks right into my eyes and talks very softly. If I were lost, she would want someone to do the same for me. If I were very hot and thirsty, she would want someone to offer me shelter and water. That is what she did for this dog. But, I am never going to just wag my tail at canine strangers. Nor, am I going to let them have the run of my house! What kind of protector would I be, if I allowed that to happen? Anyway, this weather is awful! I cannot sit outside my house, and now I have to worry that more dogs are going to end up sitting inside my house!!?? Unacceptable! Have a rescue free weekend! Tonka |
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