puppy

Lou and Lynn Part 20 Aunt Julie’s Adventure: Rescuing a Scared Puppy

Aunt Julie came by early one morning to bring Aunt Kat some sweet potatoes. She invited Lynn, Lou, and Billy to go home with her and spend the night. Aunt Kat agreed, sending the kids to gather their things. “Yippee!” shouted Lynn. “Sue is my favorite cousin!. We’ve never had a single fight! We’re gonna have so much fun!” Lou was all for it. She knew Grandma was not likely to be back soon. Besides, she knew Grandma would find her. Billy was just as excited. He and Troy never got tired of each other.

When Aunt Julie headed for home, she pulled over on the side of the road near a little bridge. “You kids be quiet. Somebody put a precious little dog here and I’ve been feeding it everyday. I want to take the poor little thing home with me but it’s too scared to let me touch it. You can watch but don’t scare it!” As soon as Aunt Julie put the dish of food down, a cute little dog ran out from under the bridge. It nervously edged closer and closer, finally getting close enough to gobble the food hungrily. Aunt Julie knelt down, beckoning to the little dog. It wagged its little tail and whined but was too afraid to approach.

“Maybe he’ll come for a kid. Come here, Lou.” Lou stood next to Aunt Julie quietly. “Kneel down real low and stretch your hand out low to the ground. If he approaches, let him come to you. Don’t move a muscle.

Lou did just as she was told. The puppy edged toward her a step at a time. Lou held her breath. Finally, the little fellow licked her fingers, then quickly backed off. In a minute, he got his confidence up and tried again. After about three times , he let her stroke him. He rolled over and let her rub his tummy. Finally trusting her, he let her pick him up, licking her face excitedly. Lou’s heart was pounding. “He trusts me!”

”Yes, he does.” Said Aunt Julie. “I had a feeling he’d like you. Now let’s get him home. He’s covered in fleas and ticks. You did a great job!”

Lou had never felt so proud. She’d literally rescued a puppy! He snuggled down in her lap and went right to sleep, fleas ticks and all. She tried not to notice them. He was so sweet.

Growing Up During Farm Life: A Brother’s Experience

When my brother was a growing up, Daddy had him out working all summer and every Saturday, bush hogging, piling brush, whatever he could think of that Bill could do to relieve his own work load. The fact was, Daddy had bought a farm and bitten off more than he could chew. He laid out a day’s work for Bill every day he wasn’t in school.

Don’t worry. Daddy didn’t neglect me. As often as not, Daddy set me to work right along with Bill. The Louisiana heat was and is miserable. Daddy kept Mother stretched to the max going for tractor parts, transporting power saws to and from the shop, picking up feed from the feed store. That left me to get meals on the table, and do “women’s work” while she was on the road. That meant, the house had better be clean and the TV off.

I digress, the point of the story it. Bill had to be working every day. Poor boy. He’d sweat so much even the insoles of his shoes were soaked through. He only had one pair of work shoes, so they never dried. During this period, the younger girls acquired a cute little lap dog. They made him a tiny bed in which he stored his little puppy treasures. Late one afternoon, Bill was recuperating from his labors and stripped off his socks, dropping them on too of his sweaty shoes. The little dog streaked over and snitched a sock for his treasure trove. Apparently it was too rank for him. In half a minute, he was back, returning the offending sock.

5 Ways to Make Sure Your Child and His Puppy Have a Satisfying Morning (reposted)

  1. Let your kid eat in front of the TV.
  2.  Forget to put Vaseline on the doorknob so kid can open door.
  3.  Make sure your kid has a puppy.
  4.  Make sure your kid’s stomach and puppy’s digestive tract are both full.
  5.  Go to bathroom for a little quality time.
                                             John and Buster on a Better Day
John and Blackie

We’ve all seen articles by organized people enumerating methods to keep out lives well-organized, tidy, and rational.  Well, this is not one of those.  I’d be far more successful at writing “How to Mess Up Everything You Touch.”  My kids were always right ahead of me, making sure nothing was missed.  When John was three, I settled him on the floor on a big towel in front of the television with his breakfast on a tray to watch “Sesame Street.  Never a slacker in the appetite department, he always wanted milk, eggs, bacon, toast, and grits.  I always watched with him, ready to pick up his tray and cuddle him in his blanket after he finished eating. This worked well for months.

One sad day, I had to excuse myself for just a minute.  Naturally, I told John to sit tight till I got back.  Everything would have been fine, except the Buster the Dog wanted in.  No three-year-old could have resisted.  Buster surely thought he’d gone to Doggy Heaven when he found breakfast waiting for him, set right at puppy level.  Making quick work of my tidy layout, he spilled the milk, gobbled the eggs and bacon, and smeared the grits as far as they’d go.  In fact, it was so altogether satisfying and filling, he pooped his gratitude out on the carpet.  Sickened by the smell, John vomited on top of the whole mess. By the time I’d finished my business and got back to the living room, John was bawling at the top of his lungs and Buster was happily burrowed into the sofa, licking the jam off the toast.

I scraped up the worst of the mess and fixed John another breakfast, not because I thought he deserved it, but because it was the only way to assuage his loud and continuous grief.  Buster went back to the yard and I spent the next couple of hours catching up on some unplanned cleaning.

As a footnote, I noticed fruit flies buzzing around John’s toy box later that morning.  Digging deep, I found a rotten banana right at the bottom, but that’s a story for another day.  Just so you know, later that week I pulled a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of the VCR.

5 Ways to Make Sure Your Child and His Puppy Have a Satisfying Morning

  1. Let your kid eat in front of the TV.
  2.  Forget to put Vaseline on the doorknob so kid can open door.
  3.  Make sure your kid has a puppy.
  4.  Make sure your kid’s stomach and puppy’s digestive tract are both full.
  5.  Go to bathroom for a little quality time.
                                             John and Buster on a Better Day
John and Blackie

We’ve all seen articles by organized people enumerating methods to keep out lives well-organized, tidy, and rational.  Well, this is not one of those.  I’d be far more successful at writing “How to Mess Up Everything You Touch.”  My kids were always right ahead of me, making sure nothing was missed.  When John was three, I settled him on the floor on a big towel in front of the television with his breakfast on a tray to watch “Sesame Street.  Never a slacker in the appetite department, he always wanted milk, eggs, bacon, toast, and grits.  I always watched with him, ready to pick up his tray and cuddle him in his blanket after he finished eating. This worked well for months.

One sad day, I had to excuse myself for just a minute.  Naturally, I told John to sit tight till I got back.  Everything would have been fine, except the Buster the Dog wanted in.  No three-year-old could have resisted.  Buster surely thought he’d gone to Doggy Heaven when he found breakfast waiting for him, set right at puppy level.  Making quick work of my tidy layout, he spilled the milk, gobbled the eggs and bacon, and smeared the grits as far as they’d go.  In fact, it was so altogether satisfying and filling, he pooped his gratitude out on the carpet.  Sickened by the smell, John vomited on top of the whole mess. By the time I’d finished my business and got back to the living room, John was bawling at the top of his lungs and Buster was happily burrowed into the sofa, licking the jam off the toast.

I scraped up the worst of the mess and fixed John another breakfast, not because I thought he deserved it, but because it was the only way to assuage his loud and continuous grief.  Buster went back to the yard and I spent the next couple of hours catching up on some unplanned cleaning.

As a footnote, I noticed fruit flies buzzing around John’s toy box later that morning.  Digging deep, I found a rotten banana right at the bottom, but that’s a story for another day.  Just so you know, later that week I pulled a peanut butter and jelly sandwich out of the VCR.

Sweet Little Girl and Her Puppy

farm girl and dogSometimes I wonder if others are such life voyeurs as I?  It seems stories just leap everywhere I go.  I don’t just see a little girl walking with her dog down the street and move on.  I watch as long as I can see her, the way she walks, her apparent mood. Does she stoop to play with the puppy? Is it on a string or a leash?  Why is she wearing oversized sneakers?  Did she slip off in them or have to wear them?  Is that a happy or sad song she’s humming? Continue reading →

His Thing is Growing!

Lhaso ApsoMy adorable three-year-old niece had just gotten in from church.  While still dressed in all her Sunday finery, Though we were gathering for Sunday dinner, she took time out of her busy day to examine Chester, their patient Lhaso Apso.  Deftly rolling him on his back, she parted the hair on his belly, announcing to all those present, “Well, Chulster’s thing is growing.  He’s just got so much hair you can’t see it.!”

What a relief!  The dinner guests had all been so worried!