Hurray! Wheat Penny is free!
Wheat Penny was released from quarantine on Tuesday and this was a good thing and a bad thing.
It is good because now we don’t all have to climb over the baby gate to get in the kitchen (or fall over it as the case may be).
It’s bad because now Wheat Penny can explore the entire house – finding any number of off-limits items like Ian’s soccer jersey, Brady’s tennis shoes, Gracie’s favorite toys, someone’s important mail, or the bookmark right out of my book.
It’s a good thing because now we could take her out to pee.
But it’s also a bad thing because now she can sneak up to the kids’ bedrooms and do her business. (Seriously? What is this about? Is she claiming them? This morning I spent a good twenty minutes scrubbing poop stains that had been tracked from one bedroom through the hall on an otherwise unaware foot. I think the next post needs to be “Dog fostering and poop – the untold story.”)
It’s good because now she can help me wake up teenagers who sleep through alarms in the mornings (which would be all three).
This may be her true calling. Here’s how it works: I knock, hear nothing, open the door, and Wheat Penny bursts in. She stands frozen, waiting, and then the occupant makes the mistake of rolling over or moaning some lovely greeting like “go away” or lets out a simple sad wimper. She is on them like white on rice, licking, pawing, nuzzling. There is no way to sleep through a Wheat Penny alarm.
It’s also bad because when she’s left in her crate, she whines for the freedom she now knows exists beyond the baby gate.
It’s a good thing because now she can clean up the popcorn spilled by movie watchers in the living room.
It’s a bad thing because now it’s impossible to load the dishwasher without help.
It’s a good thing because now we can snuggle on the couch (sort of, generally only about 30 seconds before something more exciting catches her attention).
It’s a bad thing because now she is free to perform her most famous trick – launching herself over the side of the couch into the face of unsuspecting readers and TV viewers. She does this at full speed and seems to take great pleasure in surprising her victims.
It’s a good thing because she can now hang out with Gracie.
It’s a bad thing because Gracie has no patience for this little imp.
It’s a good thing because now we can go outside to play.
But’s it’s a pretty bad thing in the cats’ book since they have absolutely zero interest in playing with an overly enthusiastic puppy….
no matter how many times she asks,
or how nice she is about it.
But mostly, it’s a good thing because no one likes to be cooped up, least of all an uber-curious, perennially hungry, crazy-friendly adorable little furball.
Another Good Dog™ 