Wednsday Night

Wednesday night and all's well. Not terribly exciting, but well. I just returned from dinner at the neighbor's (God, I am going to miss the Booth's) and I am currently listening to my dogs growl and play with a squeaky toy. Maybe not as thrilling as a night on the town, but fairly entertaining in it's own right. My mom gave them this toy for Christmas, and it's their favorite. It's a stuffed animal that resembles a wiener dog with a long springy accordion like body that will stretch out over a foot. Jack will grab one end and Scooter the other, and doggie tug-of-war commences. The two of them will pull and tug their way through out the house...Jack most often dragging Scooter around. This can be a particularly noisy affair. The sound of doggie toes tapping on the laminate flooring, the vicious growl of a Chihuahua with a Napoleon Complex, and of course the infernal, endless squeak squeak squeak of the tortured and stretched stuffed toy. Their favorite time to play this game is while someone is trying to watch a movie or have a phone conversation. They also enjoy a good go-round under the kitchen table if guests are over for a meal.

Where am I going with this? Well, sometimes their antics with this stuffed dog are something of an annoyance. Not tonight however. Tonight they are my main source of entertainment. Really. There was just this hilarious moment when they managed to wrap the stuffy around the table leg, each still yanking, neither grasping why they weren't going anywhere. Not only have I got a good chuckle out of watching the doggy show, but I've also now killed sometime writing about it. (Can you tell I am home alone? Jacob is gone for three days of interviewing first in California then Arizona.)

It's been said that pets can prolong your life. I agree. There is nothing like a wagging tail greeting you at the door day after day, or a fuzzy little buddy who ALWAYS wants to be in your lap or constantly follows you around the house. My dogs know when I am sad and know just what to do. They don't say a word and let me cry into their furry necks. A perfect friend.

But really, the best, most life prolonging effect of pet ownership has to be the laughs. I can't count how many side-splitting moments have been spent watching one of my dogs chase after a toy thrown in the house, especially when he puts on the breaks too late and slides into a wall. Or opening the sliding glass door to let one of them out only to have him walk straight into the still closed screen. Ah, good times. The pups always take it so well too. They don't get bent out of shape like some friends do when you giggle at their slap-stick misfortune.

So here's to my wonderful dogs. Jack who can catch a piece of popcorn thrown a velocity speeds, three feet from his mouth. And my beloved Scooter, who misses every time. More often than not, Scooter will get beaned in the head with any treat thrown his way. He now has salt in his eyebrows where he got hit with a piece of popcorn just moments ago! I love you guys!