My Dog

Part I:

She knows the meaning of life, but she doesn't speak english and her Spanish is poor.

I like country but my dog likes rock 'n' roll. (though, now I'm not a HUGE fan of country anymore... when I came up with that, I did listen to country all the time.)

Sometimes I wonder what she's thinking when she looks at me that way, but I know what she's thinking: "When are you going to take me out so I can try to chase bunnies again?"

She knows nothing of personal boundaries.

She enjoys pink sunsets, but not orange ones. If she could speak good Spanish I might find out why. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that orange really isn't the new pink.

She jumps around; a mosher at a heavy metal concert.

The sit with treats means to plant ones rear on the ground. But without treats, what is it to sit?

Barking is not something she does unless she gets a wild hair. In our 7 months together, she has barked about five times.

The low gutteral growl is a welcome warning when we are alone.

She is not a good snuggler. I will spoon her, but when I want to be spooned, I find four feet against my back.

She sometime snores and dreams wild dreams.

She does not like bananas with their peels on.

She enjoys spreading the contents of the bathroom wastebasket all over the living room floor.

When I come home and say HI! she piddles a little on the floor in response.

Her favorite foods are chicken, eggs and ham. Not all together. Eggs mixed with ham makes her throw up.

She likes strappy sandals and leather slippers... for lunch.

She doubles as a personal shredder.

She has sweaty feet.

Her nose is very black, very cold, and usually very wet and she insists on putting it on bare skin.

She snorts when she's excited.

She does not speak dog. WHen asking her questions in dog, "bark bark woof woof?" She cocks her head in response and says "que?"

She likes to trounce the cats.

She has been bitten on the toe by an African Grey with a bad attitude.

"Will you stop that?" Means, keep jumping around like that. Or it means keep trying to steal the bacon off of my plate! Or possibly go ahead, chase the bunnies!

Her favorite snack is bunny poo, and she can smell a bunny a mile away. I wonder if she's ever caught one?

Yes, she has stuck her tongue in my mouth against my will. She has also stuck her nose in my mouth against my will. And her paw.

She has to pace frantically in figure eights to find the "right spot."

She is a champion bed hog, high jumper, thief, mess maker, petting dog.
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Part II:

The cages at the local Dumb Friend's League in Denver, Colorado were small enclosures with plexi-glass fronts so you could see inside. Sometimes it was nice to see the dog inside, sometimes it was hard to look. Other times it was hard to look away without a longing glance back at the sweet face inside.

There was a dog that was jumping around in his own feces and urine. Other dogs were sleeping. Some were pacing, some sat politely and wagged their tails when onlookers walked by.

Onyx was the name of the little black female that I noticed. She was a labrador mix and was about 9 months old. She was standing up with her front paws against the glass. I knew it when I saw her. She was the dog I would take home.

I got her a couple of days later and renamed her Belanna, but I call her Belle unless she's in trouble. Her belly was shaved because it was mandatory that they spay and neuter unaltered canines before releasing them to their new families.

I was discouraged at first; it seemed she wanted nothing to do with me. She only went to the bathroom in the kitchen, never outside. She jumped up on me.

Within a week, we were inseperable. She wouldn't leave my side. Her head was glued to my leg. If I went into the bathroom and closed the door, she scratched at it. She also never had an accident inside ever again.

Seven months later she is still my baby. She still jumps up. She still follows me everywhere, but she can stand time away from me. She is the light of my life. She is my dog, my companion, my best friend.