Skip to main content

Bloodhounds and Asiago Cheese



Look at that face! I mean, just look at that face. So sweet, so adorable, so innocent. And so Black Lab.


But, he's a deceiver - that Wally Piggins. Because he is sweet and adorable but he is also not just Black Lab and he is definitely not innocent!!

He is part Bloodhound. And it's the part of him that's not innocent. It's the part of him that can smell:

          ~ An open jar of peanut butter within 30 seconds and from as far away as 50 feet;
        
          ~ An unattended loaf of asiago cheese bread or bagel (ASB) whenever he feels he has been slighted or I have gone into the shower. 

There was a time when Wally would smell the jar or ASB on the counter and just jump up to retrieve it, run to another room and devour the treat. We would scold him and send him to his kennel/home (kind of like a time-out chair for dogs). After a year or two of this, he would take the contraband right to his kennel where he would devour only a portion. This is where I would find him, laying in his kennel with the ASB between his paws and look of remorse on his face. (I can almost hear all you cat owners saying now, 'Yeah, right, look of remorse! How do dogs have a look of remorse?!' and all of you dog owners nodding your heads saying 'Oh yeah, I've seen that look. I know that look'.)

I learned after a year or so, that when I go into the shower I would give Wally a toy or kong stuffed with peanut butter and treats to keep him busy for the 15-20 minutes I needed to get ready. And this has worked wonders in minimizing our ASB Retrieval Incidents. It's worked so well, that I often forget to remember to put any contraband out of Wally's reach. (I know, I can hear most of you saying 'Why don't you just put the ASB away?' or 'ASB? That's full of bad stuff, you shouldn't be eating that anyway.' or 'What's ASB?' to which I reply in this order - 'I'm a work in progress', 'I know but I'm a work in progress', and 'REALLY?'). But occasionally, like yesterday, I forget to remember to:
     
     1.   Put the ASB out of reach;
     2.   Give Wally his kong.

But yesterdays incident resulted in the ASB laying unopened or untouched in the kennel and Wally laying in the living room with his unfilled kong on the floor in front of him. There was a look of remorse. But I also think, based on the empty kong's proximity, there was a look of chastisement. 

Like me, Wally is a work in progress! 

#workinprogress

Comments

It's not a popularity contest, but ...

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

I put my pride aside and got my ass off the grass and into the wheelchair. {I spent a couple minutes deciding whether to put an exclamation mark after that declaration or to put the period after that statement. I think the period better suits my mood about getting said ass into the wheelchair!} On July 4, Saugatuck has a wonderfully unique parade that includes quirky participants like the artsy-fartsy campers at OxBow art colony and the LGBT members of a local foundation along with the more traditional participants like Girl Scouts, fire trucks, and local politicians. It had been a couple years since I had been to the parade, this year, though, my Mom and sister were in town and I wanted to take them. So we loaded up in the van, including Kerri's wheelchair and my own. Once we parked, John asked if I wanted to use my chair and I initially balked but then remembered that it can be a long, hot parade and it might be better to have a place to sit. So, I acquiesced and took the cha...

Down 24

My life has been a lot like this roller coaster. Not just ups and downs, but several twists and turns. Sometimes I am whooping for joy, hands in the air ready for the what lies ahead while at other times I can see a loop or drop coming and the dread is palatable, the nausea is real. And also like a roller coaster is my weight. I've never been svelte but I have been within the BMI range. I have also been overweight and more recently the scale put me in the obese category. And that should have scared me into action but instead I just made excuses or rationalizations like "It's because I use a wheelchair to get around," or "I'm sure once X happens I'll lose that weight," or (my favorite) "It's just water weight/constipation". (Like all I needed was one really good poop and I'd be at my target weight! No plunger in the world could have worked! Like comedian Ron White says 'Just one really good dump from a new pant si...

Wally is on weight watchers

If you've read my blog in the past or know me from the 'real world', you know about my pup Wally. Well, this 105 pound lap dog is now on a diet. Yep, one too many loaves of Asiago cheese bread stolen from off the counter. Or two too many peanut butter and treat stuffed Kongs. Or could it be that he's been too good at his job of Pre-Wash leaving no crumb (but plenty of green vegetables) un-licked. It certainly could be that his sweet, adorable face has garnered him a few (hundred?) extra treats. Or that a certain someone has soft-spot and can't ignore Wally's laser-focus stare while eating her breakfast/lunch/dinner compelling her to share a small morsel. I have to blame you and your charm (well, not completely because I am a push-over). Whatever the reason, my companion and I are now on Weight Watchers together. Instead of two cups of kibble twice a day, Wally will now get one and a half. No table food from a certain someone that is me no matter how guilty...