Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Puppy love

This is my dog. I took this picture to show her as the spoiled little princess she is, right down to the tiara (provided by my daughter). She sat still for it because I had a large dog biscuit in my hand; otherwise the tiara would have been a bit of mangled plastic in approximately 2.4 seconds, and the dog would have been romping all over the room, because...well, because she's spoiled and we thought it was so cute when she was small we didn't train her out of it. Now we have a 65 lb beast running wild in the house, over, under, and around us all.

When I read about the climbers who slid down the mountain and survived thanks to the dog they brought with them, I was not surprised. The dog, a Labrador retriever mix, lay on top of the climbers to help them keep warm in the sub-zero temperatures until they could be rescued. What a great dog! What protective instincts! Yup, all true, but... My dog's numero uno, A-#1 favorite place to be is right on top of me. She'll settle for my feet, but in her perfect world, in her little doggy fantasies, she is allowed to get right up on the couch and drape herself across me as I try to work, with her head on my shoulder (so she can lick my ear from time to time). In fact, she's at her calmest and most docile the closer she is to me (or to my husband--she's also a daddy's girl). I think she's a smart girl and knows she'll be kicked off if she wriggles around, but I also think she's just about reached her nirvana and doesn't need anything else. Not even dog biscuits. And boy, does she put out warmth.

So now I know: if I am ever climbing a mountain*, in the winter**, without a team of rescue mountaineers right behind me***, I'll take my dog.


*Not likely
**REALLY not likely
***Oh, @%&?# NO

4 comments:

Ann Christopher said...

Hi, Caroline--

I would've posted sooner, but my cat has been sitting on my mouse. :)

Pets--ya gotta love 'em.

I know this is slightly off topic, but I gotta ask--is FEBRUARY really the month you want to go around climbing mountains?

Ann

Sally MacKenzie said...

Ann, what month is a GOOD month to climb mountains? I'm all for a good hike, but once it gets to strapping on gear--or involves snow--I'm outta there.

And I guess it was certainly handy they had the dog along, but I never thought "dog" and "mountain climbing" belonged in the same sentance.

Ann Christopher said...

No kidding, Sally. Wonder how the dog felt about the whole mountain climbing experience...

Ann

Kristi Cook said...

Actually, I think I'm losing my mind, because I decided recently that my dog (a *huge* Kuvasz--also a huge pain in the patootie) really needs a dog companion. I've got my heart set on a Petits Basset Griffon Vendeen (a.k.a. PBGV) and have now spoken to a couple of breeders. But a puppy?! When Finn was a puppy, I'm pretty sure I said I would NEVER get another puppy. I think I need my head examined.