Dogs, Nascar, Little Boys & Books

A Sunday In My Life

First I have to give you a little background and tell you about my dogs.  We have two Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix girls that are sisters, who are about six years old.

Nera is blond and looks more Blue Heeler and she came to live with us first, Oreo is black and white and looks like a Border Collie and she came to live with us the very next day. (Long story there, will save for another day.) Anyway Oreo is very smart, does tricks, herds children, cats and people in general as is true to her breed.  Nera is your typical "dumb blond", she can fetch and catch balls put won't release and chews up socks and stuffed animals, she carries a sock with her each time she goes outside.  Before we mow the lawn or after a long winter the first step we have is to pick up the socks, we tease that she has a cotton deficiency  :) But because she has lived her one day longer she is the Alpha dog, Oreo cannot receive attention unless Nera is receiving attention or Nera growls and barks at Oreo and drives her from the room.  The other trait of both these dogs is they love to bark and they bark at everything, inside and out, people walking on our side of the street or the other side of the street or walking down the country road behind our house, heaven forbid they are walking a dog.  Cats, deer back in the field, kids playing several houses away and always when my husband comes home, they go nuts.  Last week I finally ordered collars to teach them to stop barking, a high pitched sound is heard if they bark once and they get a little shock if they continue. Didn't take them long to learn and I'm sure our neighbors are just as happy as we are.  But you know the dogs are not happy.

Now about my Sunday.  Most Sunday afternoons this time of year you will find me watching the NASCAR race cheering on my favorite driver, Wisconsin native, Matt Kenseth, while reading a book, because the race can get kind of boring unless someone crashes.

Most Sundays my grandson watches the start of the race with me, he loves it when the big jets fly over, then he usually plays with Grandpa, his mommy or his aunts and uncles, but when he hears me yell about a crash or something in the race he comes running.  Such was the case yesterday, when late in the race a car went airborne and Kenseth was running anywhere in the top five.

He came in by me and I set my book aside to hold him on my lap to watch the replay of the crash and then another wreck that involved 5 cars and finally the end of the race with Matt finishing in second place.  My grandson and I were having such a great time.  Then I put him down and reached for my book.  MY BOOK!!! OREO HAD MY BOOK!!!  IN HER MOUTH CHEWING IT LIKE IT WAS RAW MEAT.  I snatched it away from her, tapped her on the nose, "BAD DOG".  She looked up at me panting, it looked like she had a smile on her face and was quite proud of herself.  I got up to show my husband what she had did and she followed me, wagging her tail, like she was going to receive a treat for chewing my book.  Then at bed time as I was trying to finish the book so I could review it this week, before I tossed it in the garbage, she actually climbed up my me and but her face right on my lap to be petted.

I know dogs have short memories about some things but I wasn't ready to forgive her yet and I truly believe that as she was chewing she was thinking "I'll get her back for these stupid collars, wish I could give her a shock, I'll give her a shock and chew up her book."