A Dozen Unedited Views from My Imperfect World
I have two alarms that wake me each morning and get me out of bed. The first is my clock radio. The second is Sonny, my corgi lab mix. The radio wakes me with music and the news. Sonny gets me out of bed with his bark which, translated into English, says, "Get up and feed me, d@mn it."
I didn't teach Sonny to swear, although I've said "D@mn" and "He!!" on occasion. I picked up those words in junior high. By high school I felt like I had a problem with profanity, so I accepted some advice from my older brother. Each time I swore I hit myself on my upper leg. A big purple bruise formed after a few days, and since then I've mostly stopped swearing.
Sonny, who lives in my back yard says, "D@mn d@mn d@mn...." till I put down his food bowl. The swearing then stops for the morning.
Jake, my setter mix who lived in the garage, rarely swears. He greets me with, "Dad, I gotta go outside and pee." I open the garage door. Jake runs up the driveway to the front yard. He takes care of business and then sniffs around the yard, locating each spot where the dogs who run free in the neighborhood have taken care of their business while he was confined to the garage.
It hasn't been a perfect world for either dog. When Jake was rescued as a pup, running back and forth across Highway 220 between speeding cars, it was obvious that he had minimal human interaction. As a shy dog no one wanted to adopt him, so he was fostered by his rescuer for six months where he learned to trust a few people. After he let me adopt him he decided to stay in the garage where he felt safe. Some of my indoor cats were too intense for him.
Sonny's world was one of being abandoned. When a couple of co-workers rescued him from Sunset Avenue but no one could keep him, I took him to my vet for a check up and boarded him while I looked for his owner or a rescue organization. When no one would take him and he was deemed unadoptable due to his assertive nature, I had a choice - put him to sleep or bring him home. I chose the latter.
With his roaming nature I decided that he needed to be fenced in. He would probably like to run free, but he has adapted to his world of the 30' x 60' fenced yard, with the view from the deck as a bonus.
This is my favorite time of year to shoot photos of the sunrise, because the sun rises later in the morning. I decided this morning get dressed and leave home without shaving or showering. After feeding Sonny and Jake, and saying 'Good morning" to each of the cats, I left with my camera to find the sunrise.
A Dozen Unedited Views from My Imperfect World
I have two alarms that wake me each morning and get me out of bed. The first is my clock radio. The second is Sonny, my corgi lab mix. The radio wakes me with music and the news. Sonny gets me out of bed with his bark which, translated into English, says, "Get up and feed me, d@mn it."
I didn't teach Sonny to swear, although I've said "D@mn" and "He!!" on occasion. I picked up those words in junior high. By high school I felt like I had a problem with profanity, so I accepted some advice from my older brother. Each time I swore I hit myself on my upper leg. A big purple bruise formed after a few days, and since then I've mostly stopped swearing.
Sonny, who lives in my back yard says, "D@mn d@mn d@mn...." till I put down his food bowl. The swearing then stops for the morning.
Jake, my setter mix who lived in the garage, rarely swears. He greets me with, "Dad, I gotta go outside and pee." I open the garage door. Jake runs up the driveway to the front yard. He takes care of business and then sniffs around the yard, locating each spot where the dogs who run free in the neighborhood have taken care of their business while he was confined to the garage.
It hasn't been a perfect world for either dog. When Jake was rescued as a pup, running back and forth across Highway 220 between speeding cars, it was obvious that he had minimal human interaction. As a shy dog no one wanted to adopt him, so he was fostered by his rescuer for six months where he learned to trust a few people. After he let me adopt him he decided to stay in the garage where he felt safe. Some of my indoor cats were too intense for him.
Sonny's world was one of being abandoned. When a couple of co-workers rescued him from Sunset Avenue but no one could keep him, I took him to my vet for a check up and boarded him while I looked for his owner or a rescue organization. When no one would take him and he was deemed unadoptable due to his assertive nature, I had a choice - put him to sleep or bring him home. I chose the latter.
With his roaming nature I decided that he needed to be fenced in. He would probably like to run free, but he has adapted to his world of the 30' x 60' fenced yard, with the view from the deck as a bonus.
This is my favorite time of year to shoot photos of the sunrise, because the sun rises later in the morning. I decided this morning get dressed and leave home without shaving or showering. After feeding Sonny and Jake, and saying 'Good morning" to each of the cats, I left with my camera to find the sunrise.