In the Company of Dogs

Is this a battle
of the sexes, or maybe
perhaps breeds?

A one-dog-up-man-ship
vying for all of me?

In my lap,
a fluid harvest
awaits, treats
cultivated
especially
for each one

or so you'd think
by the way
they act

as jealous as
a teenage crush.


*
Prompt inspirations-
3WW: battle, fluid, harvest
Poetic Asides- "In the company of ____"

Letter to pepper spray carrier

Dear Whoever-sprayed-Mace-in-my-dog's-eyes,

Please don't spray my dogs with Mace anymore. My dogs do not bite. Snowie's eyes are nearly swollen shut. A trip to the vet yesterday confirmed it came from some kind of pepper spray.

If you are the mailman, please disregard the dog's barking when you walk by. Jake and Snowie look out their peephole at you, but they are only trying to protect the property. I can put up with the wet mail we get from your body sweat (which sometimes ruins our mail), but spraying my dogs' eyes is unacceptable.

If you are a meter reader, please ring the doorbell and I will put the dogs up. I am home most of the time and it will only take a second to go to the door first.

Have some compassion for innocent animals. They are God's lil' creatures that love unconditionally. Maybe you should try to practice some of that love. Ditch the pepper spray first, though.

Sincerely,

ME, an angry dog owner

Snowy & Jake

Snowy and Jake are like fric and frac;
Whenever you see one of them, the other is close by.
They go together like bread and butter,
And together they play and share shut-eye.
Their love is unconditional,
Forever true through thick and thin;
Their lives are plain and simple,
And they will protect us to the end.
Oh, how we love our sweet, cute dogs,
For they are the epitome of true pals.
I wish humans could be more like dogs,
Nonjudgmental and never needing rationale.

~Laurie Kolp

Snowy's Accident and Pete's Birthday

Today is Pete's birthday. Happy Birthday, Pete! I love you! The best present we have ever given my dear husband is our lovable dog Snowy (pictured above). He adores her, and she loves him. Watching Pete and Snowy interact is so sweet. Jake, my dog, loves Snowy too, and spying on them as they play can be hilarious at times. But in the backyard, Snowy loves to dig and get into everything. In case you don't remember, or are just beginning to read this blog, we adopted Snowy from the Humane Society and gave her to Pete for Christmas. The day we picked her up was the day it snowed here in Southeast Texas- hence the name Snowy (plus she has some white on her belly).

Well, yesterday Pete was grilling dinner outside when he came in suddenly and in a panic cried out, "Snowy has lost her eye!"

Katie started crying immediately, as any preteen girl would do, and I tried to remain calm.

"Are you saying her eyeball fell out?" I asked, unable to imagine what Pete meant.

Pete was rummaging through the phonebook to find the animal hospital that is open on the weekends.

"Her left eye is swollen shut and her eyeball is pushed back. The clear coating on the outside is gone. She might be blind now," Pete answered.

He called the emergency vet and immediately took Snowy in, as the rest of us sat and waited. Jake sat by the garage door, visibly concerned about his hurt buddy. Time seemed to pass very slowly as we tried to eat. Would Snowy need surgery? Would she be permanently unable to see from that eye? Would she die? All of these questions were scenarios floating through my head as I tried to swallow my dinner.

Pete finally called and I could hear the relief in his much calmer voice. Her eye was okay. She hurt it somehow, with a stick perhaps, and the eye naturally overreacts and swells shut so as to protect itself. They would be home soon, with eye drops, ointment and antibiotics for Snowy. The whole incident cost $125.00.

So today, on Pete's birthday, we have so much to be grateful for- Snowy will be okay, and so will Pete!