Friday was Charlie’s birthday! The rascal is three years old.
Charlie is our dog. I think I’ve told you about him before: he is a Schnoodle, a cross between a Schnauzer and a Poodle. And he’s the greatest! Something I’m sure every dog owner feels about their pet.
Charlie with his birthday presents
His birthday was Friday and my wife, Priscilla, works a 24-hour shift on Fridays. I woke up to hear her saying, “Happy Birthday Charlie! Now I’m sorry I have to work today. We’ll celebrate tomorrow.” I was just waking up thinking, “What is she doing? He won’t know the difference. Does she think he has a calendar or a doggie iPhone that has daily reminders?” Then again, I’m the guy that has conversations with his dog just about every day.
I saw a survey the other day that said a large percentage of us say goodbye to our pets when we walk out the door. I know I do. “Alright be good Charlie. I won’t be gone long!” It’s as if I think he’ll be thinking, “Ok. he said it won’t be long. That’s good. It’s not like yesterday when he was gone ALL DAY!”
I’m pretty sure they have no concept of time. I say that because it never fails: I can just go up the street for milk or something and when I come back he’s ALL EXCITED! It’s been ten minutes but he acts like it’s been hours. Gotta admit it…it’s a cool feeling. Imagine if people acted that way? “Dad! You came home! I missed you so much!” Instead of, “Hey! When’s dinner?”
The other thing that makes Charlie “special” is his timing. As I said, my wife works a 24-hour shift on Friday and Wednesday too. On those days Charlie does mope a bit. I take him for a walk in the morning and the afternoon but otherwise he naps a lot. Then… after dinner when I settle down to watch some television… he decides its play time! We have a basket in the living room with his toys. He proceeds to take out every toy and come up to me to play tug-o-war. However, he stays jjjjuuuuuusssstttt out of my reach. I swear he’s laughing at me on the inside. And if I don’t give him some attention, he proceeds to start chewing on a sofa pillow because he knows I’ll get up to take corrective action.
Or, I’ll be watching a drama and just when the dialogue is getting serious he’ll stand right in front of me biting the squeaky toy!
I’m cranking up the volume to hear what’s being said and then the music comes crashing in and I’m sure the neighbors can tell what I’m watching.
I don’t know about you but the older I get, the more I appreciate the time we have with our furry friends. Experience has taught me that we only have so many years with them. Are you like us? Whenever we have a dog that passes, it hurts so bad we say we won’t put ourselves through this again….and then we get another dog a few weeks later. I just can’t imagine my house without a dog. It would be so quiet. There would be no one to talk to — and yes, I talk to Charlie all the time. We have the best discussions though he can be rather stubborn at times. And stay away from politics! Whew!
So give your furry friend a little extra attention today. It’s just an amazing example of unconditional love. I hope he understands that I need him as much, or maybe more, than he needs me.
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