The Family Dog

When our kids were young we had a dog, Ruffy, who was part German Shepard and part wolf. He was a cute little fuzzy puppy who grew up into a good-sized dog, and he stayed outside. Except for the time something scared him and he crashed through the window on the French door leading into the house from the patio.

This is not Ruffy, but he looked a lot like this.

I was in the kitchen cleaning up from supper when I heard the commotion. Our oldest daughter ran in bubbling over with excitement and announced, “Ruffy came in?”

“Who let him in.”

“Nobody. He came through the window.”

“What window?”

“The window in the door.”

“But he’s huge and that window is small.”

By then, Ruffy had come into the kitchen and was checking under the table for scraps. I went into the living room, and sure enough, one pane of glass was broken out of the French door. Luckily, it had come out clean so there were no jagged edges that could have cut the dog, but still, I had to wonder how that great big dog fit through an opening about 8 inches by 12 inches.

Ruffy was quite fierce when storms weren’t scaring him. One time when the kids were out in the back playing and a neighbor tried to come through the gate, Ruffy sat like a growling sentinel and wouldn’t let the neighbor in. I had to tell my neighbor to always come to the front door when she wanted to visit.

When he wasn’t loose to play in the yard, Ruffy had a large pen and loved to run the perimeter while one of us squirted him with the hose. That was especially refreshing in the heat of a Texas summer, but it did have one downside. The weeds and grass grew like Jack’s beanstalk inside the pen.

Ruffy was always good for a romp or a walk, and it was undeniable that he wormed his way into all our hearts. Never was that more evident then when the kids did a survey at the dinner table and decided they all liked the dog better than me.

There was a time I liked animals more than people, so I was not terribly insulted. (smile)


Do you have a pet that your kids like more than they like you? 

Where on Earth is Maryann Miller?

Today in real life I am in Memphis visiting family. But in cyberspace I am a guest on Joslyn Vaughn's blog. If you have a minute stop by her blog for a visit.

I should be back home over the weekend, and will recap my vacation and book tour over the next week. In the meantime, here is an excerpt from my humorous memoir, A Dead Tomato Plant and a Paycheck. Enjoy....

This is the beginning of a chapter on family pets:

THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY
No a Crocodile Does Not Make a Good Pet

No family would be complete without their pets. We have had a number of them through the years, and they all have a story.

When Anjanette and David were young and Michael was just a baby, we had a cat, Nicky, who wasn’t too crazy about living with little people who pulled her hair and chased her. She had been my cat before I married Carl, and she just barely tolerated him before and after we got married. She would often get on the bed and insinuate herself between us, then push on him with her paws.

"Is she doing that on purpose?” he’d ask.

“Oh, I hardly think so,” I said.

Then a paw would hit a tickle spot and he’d go flying out of the bed. “That cat’s a menace,” he said. “She pushed me out of bed.”

“Honey, listen to yourself. You’re a grown man and she’s just a little cat. Besides, I’m sure she likes you.”

Well maybe,” he conceded, giving her a sideways glance.

“Of course she does. Aren’t you the one who plays with her every day with the crazy ball? She loves that.”

“Well, if you’re sure.”

“I am. Now get back into bed.” I moved the cat and patted the bed.

“Okay.”

The problem was that Nicky was not as reasonable as Carl and this nightly routine repeated itself often.


NOTE: Now we share the bed with two cats and a small dog. No wonder I end up on the couch sometimes.

Ramblings

Those of you who use Blogger.com for you own blogs noticed that there have been problems with the site most of the past few days. We couldn't get access to publish our posts, and that sure threw a wrench into our schedules, didn't it? And now I don't know what to title this post. It was written for my usual Friday's Odds and Ends, but what do I call it today?I really don't know. That's why I came up with that really catchy title.

Something new for the PC police to watch for - people who refer to their pets as pets. Apparently there is some concern among philosophers that the reason we treat animals as animals is because of the way we talk about some of them.  The Journal of Animal Ethics, a new publication, wants people to change some of the common terms applied to animals: Stubborn as a mule, sly as a fox, slippery as an eel.  Using terms like that supposedly makes us think poorly of those animals. The article in the Journal, also asks people, specifically writers, to refer to those cuddly creatures we share our homes with - the dog not our husbands - as companion animals, rather than pets. Apparently, "pets" is a derogatory term.

No wonder my pets, er, companion animals, are so deranged.

General Electric, one of the largest companies in the U.S. made $5.1 billion in profits in the United States last year, but according to a report in the New York Times, the company has not paid a penny of federal tax for 2010. Other large corporations that have paid little or no taxes include Exxon Mobil and Boeing, Bank of America and Citigroup. And they are not doing anything illegal. The tax laws allow for major loopholes for businesses.

And some people still think we don't need a massive overhaul of the tax system in the United States.

In a suburb of Dallas there have been two incidents of students fighting in a classroom and the teacher has not intervened. One incident was more of a beating than a fight as the victim was attacked at his desk and punched numerous times while the teacher just watched. Some teachers were quoted as saying that it is dangerous to try to intervene in a fight, and unless a policy is in place to deal with this type of violence, they are advised to do nothing.

It is a sad, sad day when students can rule a classroom like that. What kinds of parents are raising children who can strike such fear in their peers and other adults who are supposed to be in authority?

Family Pets

Today my short story, The One O'Clock Nap is featured on Daily Cheap Reads, along with two books that sound really interesting. Every time I do one of these promotional gigs, I discover another new book to buy. LOL  Here is the link if anyone is interested in checking out the books and stories.

I haven't posted an excerpt from my humorous memoir in a while, so I thought I'd share a bit with you today. Enjoy....

Needless to say, we did not adopt one of the kittens, and for a while we thought we could survive without a pet. After a few months, however, it became clear that we were not the kind of family that could live without a four-footed friend. So I started looking for a dog, and we got Ruffy, who was part German Shepard and part wolf. He was a cute little fuzzy puppy who grew up into a good-sized dog, and he stayed outside. Except for the time something scared him and he crashed through the window on the French door leading into the house from the patio.

I was in the kitchen cleaning up from supper when I heard the commotion. Anjanette ran in and announced, “Ruffy came in?”

“Who let him in.”

“Nobody. He came through the window.”

“What window?”

“The window in the door.”

“But he’s huge and that window is small.”

By then, Ruffy had come into the kitchen and was checking under the table for scraps. I went into the living room, and sure enough, one pane of glass was broken out of the French door. Luckily, it had come out clean so there were no jagged edges that could have cut the dog, but still, I had to wonder how that great big dog fit through an opening about 8 inches by 12 inches.

Ruffy was quite fierce when storms weren’t scaring him. One time when the kids were out in the back playing and a neighbor tried to come through the gate, Ruffy sat like a growling sentinel and wouldn’t let the neighbor in. I had to tell my neighbor to always come to the front door when she wanted to visit.

When he wasn’t loose to play in the yard, Ruffy had a large pen and loved to run the perimeter while one of us squirted him with the hose. That was especially refreshing in the heat of a Texas summer, but it did have one downside. The weeds and grass grew like Jack’s beanstalk inside the pen.

Ruffy was always good for a romp or a walk, and it was undeniable that he wormed his way into all our hearts. Never was that more evident then when the kids did a survey at the dinner table and decided they all liked the dog better than me.