I got my very first report card the other day. My human friends--Stella, Miriam, AJ, and Marie--were the ones who thought it would be a great idea to create a character assessment of the first six months of my life. Here is my report card:
Character Trait Grade Comments
Obedience A Responds with alacrity (especially to "treat")
Courtesty A+ Includes all in his leaps and licks attention
Hygiene B+ Regularly washes ears and face in Water Dish
Neatness C+ Does not return toys to Toy Box
Concentration A Fiercely attentive to doors and food
Friendliness A+ Tongue and tail always say, "I like you."
Effort A+ Aims high (especially to reach the table)
Perseverance A+ Relentless in games of Tug
Comments
Thunder's area of greatest improvement is his response to discipline regarding the begging for food at the table. He manifests good self-image and future leadership potential in the canine world.
My Rebuttal
Regarding the C+ in Neatness: I don't see the importance of having to put my toys in the Toy Box. Mom does that for me every day. And when she does, I just take them out so I have them ready for playtime. What is the purpose of putting away toys when I want to play with them?
Regarding the B+ in Hygiene: The grade I was given is a bit low. Not only do I clean my face and ears in Water Dish, but I also smell very good. Everyday I go outside and roll in dead squirrel, dead bird, or dead frog. I'll even roll in other animals' feces. So a dog with clean ears, clean face, and who smells really good ought to receive at least an A in this category.
Thought for you humans:
What honest assessment can you give yourself? What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? How can you make your strengths even stronger?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
A Monster Under the Bed!
There's a monster under mom's bed! A real-life monster!
I love to play hide-and-seek with Mom. She'll say, "Where's Thunder?" Then I'll scoot myself under Mom's bed and close my eyes really tightly so Mom doesn't see me. She will keep calling me over and over again--"Thunder?? Thunder?? Where are you?--until finally she gets the bright idea to look under the bed.
When she looks under the bed and finds me and says, "There's my Thunder!," I open my eyes, wag my tail, and scoot back out from under the bed. Then we'll play a little bit until she says, "Where's Thunder?" and the whole game starts all over again.
Except the other day, I wasn't the only one under the bed. There was a monster there.
When Mom said her usual, "Where's Thunder?" and I scooted myself under the bed, the monster bit me on the tummy. I felt it and I yelped and scooted really fast back out from under the bed. I sat in Mom's lap and wimpered. She gave me lots of hugs and kisses as I tried to explain to her that there is a big monster under the bed. It is a big, scary, hairy, and furry monster that growls and slobbers and bites really hard!
Mom looked under the bed and said she couldn't see the monster. I told her, "Of course not! The monster can only be seen with dog-eyes!"
I was too scared to go back under the bed. I still am too scared to go under there.
But Mom believes me that there is a monster under the bed and we are trying to figure out how to get rid of under-the-bed-monsters. Do you have any ideas? I really want to play Hide-and-Seek with Mom, but I cannot until we get rid of the monster. I want to tell the monster that under the bed is my place to play, not its place!
Thought for you humans:
Of what are you afraid today? Is your fear real or based upon make believe?
I love to play hide-and-seek with Mom. She'll say, "Where's Thunder?" Then I'll scoot myself under Mom's bed and close my eyes really tightly so Mom doesn't see me. She will keep calling me over and over again--"Thunder?? Thunder?? Where are you?--until finally she gets the bright idea to look under the bed.
When she looks under the bed and finds me and says, "There's my Thunder!," I open my eyes, wag my tail, and scoot back out from under the bed. Then we'll play a little bit until she says, "Where's Thunder?" and the whole game starts all over again.
Except the other day, I wasn't the only one under the bed. There was a monster there.
When Mom said her usual, "Where's Thunder?" and I scooted myself under the bed, the monster bit me on the tummy. I felt it and I yelped and scooted really fast back out from under the bed. I sat in Mom's lap and wimpered. She gave me lots of hugs and kisses as I tried to explain to her that there is a big monster under the bed. It is a big, scary, hairy, and furry monster that growls and slobbers and bites really hard!
Mom looked under the bed and said she couldn't see the monster. I told her, "Of course not! The monster can only be seen with dog-eyes!"
I was too scared to go back under the bed. I still am too scared to go under there.
But Mom believes me that there is a monster under the bed and we are trying to figure out how to get rid of under-the-bed-monsters. Do you have any ideas? I really want to play Hide-and-Seek with Mom, but I cannot until we get rid of the monster. I want to tell the monster that under the bed is my place to play, not its place!
Thought for you humans:
Of what are you afraid today? Is your fear real or based upon make believe?
Thursday, December 8, 2011
The Joy of Waiting
It is not easy to wait for anything when you are a six-month old puppy like me!
Advent is a time of waiting. It is an important four weeks for Christians as they prepare their hearts and homes and wait to celebrate Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
So I am learning to wait for Christmas, too. There is now a big tree in in my favorite corner of the living room where I love to take my naps. The tree is decorated with pretty bulbs and little lights. I'm not supposed to go near the tree, so I've got to wait until after Christmas when mom puts away the tree until I can take my naps in my favorite corner of the house.
Outside, there is a wonderful place in my yard that turns into a puddle of water whenever the sump pump goes off. I love slurping up the water that comes out of the sump pump hose! But now, because the weather here in Wisconsin is so very cold, the water turns into ice as soon as comes out. I've got to wait until the weather warms up before I can slurp up the water again.
The other day, when Mom and I were out walking, I discovered a dog toy. It is orange and black and filthy and torn up and full of dog slobber. Mom says it's a toy only a dog would love. I proudly carried that new dog toy with me for the remainder of our walk.
When we got close to our house, I took a little detour and went to my neighbor's house. In warm weather, my neighbor, Connie, likes to plant pretty flowers alongside her house. Now that it is cold outside, there are no flowers, just delicious dirt! So I went over by the dirt and, with the new dog toy hanging from my mouth, I promptly dug a nice hole in the dirt. The dirt felt cold, but it was still gooey and most importantly, very messy! I got dirt all over my paws and my face.
When the hole was dug, I gently placed that dog toy into the hole and then I used my nose to cover it up with more dirt. The dirt became a blanket to keep my new dog toy warm!
Then I sat down and looked at mom and said to her, "Now I've got to wait until springtime when Connie digs up her garden and discovers this dog toy! I can't wait until Connie finds it! It will be such a surprise!"
"Oh, it will be a great surprise!" Mom said.
That's the funny thing with waiting...at first it can be annoying, like having to find a new corner to take my naps or not being able to slurp up sump pump water when I want to, but then waiting can be very exciting because there can be many surprises that come along!
It's still not easy waiting for anything when you are a puppy. But this Advent, I am going to try to find the hidden blessings and surprises that times like Advent bring!
Thought for you humans:
How do you deal with waiting? Are you impatient? Are you calm enough to be open to new surprises?
Advent is a time of waiting. It is an important four weeks for Christians as they prepare their hearts and homes and wait to celebrate Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Christ.
So I am learning to wait for Christmas, too. There is now a big tree in in my favorite corner of the living room where I love to take my naps. The tree is decorated with pretty bulbs and little lights. I'm not supposed to go near the tree, so I've got to wait until after Christmas when mom puts away the tree until I can take my naps in my favorite corner of the house.
Outside, there is a wonderful place in my yard that turns into a puddle of water whenever the sump pump goes off. I love slurping up the water that comes out of the sump pump hose! But now, because the weather here in Wisconsin is so very cold, the water turns into ice as soon as comes out. I've got to wait until the weather warms up before I can slurp up the water again.
The other day, when Mom and I were out walking, I discovered a dog toy. It is orange and black and filthy and torn up and full of dog slobber. Mom says it's a toy only a dog would love. I proudly carried that new dog toy with me for the remainder of our walk.
When we got close to our house, I took a little detour and went to my neighbor's house. In warm weather, my neighbor, Connie, likes to plant pretty flowers alongside her house. Now that it is cold outside, there are no flowers, just delicious dirt! So I went over by the dirt and, with the new dog toy hanging from my mouth, I promptly dug a nice hole in the dirt. The dirt felt cold, but it was still gooey and most importantly, very messy! I got dirt all over my paws and my face.
When the hole was dug, I gently placed that dog toy into the hole and then I used my nose to cover it up with more dirt. The dirt became a blanket to keep my new dog toy warm!
Then I sat down and looked at mom and said to her, "Now I've got to wait until springtime when Connie digs up her garden and discovers this dog toy! I can't wait until Connie finds it! It will be such a surprise!"
"Oh, it will be a great surprise!" Mom said.
That's the funny thing with waiting...at first it can be annoying, like having to find a new corner to take my naps or not being able to slurp up sump pump water when I want to, but then waiting can be very exciting because there can be many surprises that come along!
It's still not easy waiting for anything when you are a puppy. But this Advent, I am going to try to find the hidden blessings and surprises that times like Advent bring!
Thought for you humans:
How do you deal with waiting? Are you impatient? Are you calm enough to be open to new surprises?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)