Now Hear This: Little dog is a bundle of love
Sleeping with dogs, and my wife Pat (at the same time). I’ve been doing it for 25 years. Ask Pat, and she no doubt will tell you, there have been certain nights, in that quarter century, she found herself sleeping with two dogs – the other being me. And on those occasions, when she made a choice, guess who slept on the couch ? every time!
We are members of the animal lovers community, which gives us certain rights. The right to talk and act silly with our pets, anytime, anywhere. With babies it’s expected, but “doggie” talk ( which I never speak in public) I get the distinct feeling is socially unacceptable to those who have no affection for our critters.
“Now hear this” ? get over it! Remember, it’s one of our rights.
And, when you have “babies,” and “doggies” both in the same dwelling, well the silliness, just never ends.
These days in the Hines household, it’s just me, and Pat, and P.J.(which stands for Pat’s Joy). P.J. is a 10-pound, all-white Alfa-male Maltee-Poo monster, who completely controls our household from the time we get up in the morning till lights out at night.
P.J.’s worst habit is waiting until we go to bed, which is always 12 or 1 a.m. (remember I work the late shift) and that’s play time for him. He likes to jump in bed with his food and stand over it. Then the game begins. He guards while I try and snatch it away. If I’m lucky his teeth don’t imprint my hand.
When he beats me to the object of his affection, he then eats it little balls of prescription diet canine bites. And guess what? When he dines, always in the middle of the bed, right between Pat and I, he gets crumbs everywhere.
Then there are the nights I am awakened by a “doggie” bone in my ear. P.J. has hidden one of his treats under my pillow. But he makes up for that on those mornings when I awake, (P.J. has been waiting patiently), and he begins to lick behind my ears. There’s nothing quite like that sound. First one ear. Then the other until they’re squeaky clean. Already that’s more information than you needed, right? See how silly we are. And, I’m admitting it.
P.J. is 7-years-old, and I learned a long time ago his IQ is a lot higher than mine. I forget things. Lots of things. P.J. forgets nothing. Where he hid his treat, from three days ago, or the exact spot he left his favorite toy, in the upstairs bonus room ? and P.J. understands everything we say. We, however, don’t always comprehend what P.J. is trying to tell us, but we’re learning.
When company comes to visit, P.J. immediately takes over. He demands your respect. You must greet him before anybody else, or you’ll contend with his persistent barking. Then he begins his parade with one of his toys held firmly in his mouth. He takes the same route each time he circles the room moving carefully, and deliberately making sure you notice his every move. Then just as we begin our conversation, P.J. picks out someone to lavish his attention on, jumps into their lap, usually uninvited, guarding his toy with his life, daring you to take it from him. Another favorite game.
By the way, P.J. doesn’t know he’s little. He thinks he’s a big dog. Josie, a yellow lab, belonged to our neighbors, but camped out at our house most of the time, because P.J. adopted her. He thought they were the same size. They ran and played together in our backyard, and Josie always let P.J. win. Josie would chase P.J., and pin him to the ground gently with her mouth never hurting him. P.J. would growl, and Josie would run like crazy ? P.J. in hot pursuit. We never told him Josie was a big dog.
We’re thinking about getting another bigger dog in the spring, but I don’t know. Overcrowding in bed is already a problem.
(Hope Hines is a television sports reporter and a Nashville personality.)