from “A Dog and a Keyboard”

 

Our guest blogger this week is Leslie Brown, a writer and editor who has raised dogs for more than 40 years. She’s seen many puppy muzzles turn gray and has held them during their last moments of life.

Leslie’s involvement with animal organizations began at ten years old when she donated her allowance to the World Wildlife Fund. In the mid-nineties, Leslie volunteered as a writer for Best Friends Animal Society in Utah, working on their first magazine and participating in their initial fundraising efforts. One of the first articles Leslie wrote for Best Friends was about Old Friends, the area they set aside for old dogs. Sometimes she stayed with them for hours. Years later, Leslie continued writing about dogs for the blog Dogspired. As chief editor, she helped the site grow from a few fans to over 6,000. She has also created her own blogs. The most recent one is “A Dog and a Keyboard.”

Leslie says she spoils dogs for all the dogs who aren’t spoiled. After losing her last senior dog unexpectedly, she hopes to spoil another one soon.

 

The Other End

 

Sometimes you have to know what’s going on at the other end. The end where your tail is. Especially if you’re going out in public. It’s good to smell what other dogs smell.

But first you have to get back there. You have to get in the correct position. Most often this is a donut shape. It’s the easiest nose-to-tail method. But I’ve seen dogs fall over this way. Big dogs and little dogs. They don’t bend hard enough. So they just topple over.

Here’s the best way to make the donut shape. First, pretend you have a bug on your back. You don’t want that bug there, so you reach back to bite him.

Okay, you’re halfway there.

Then pretend you didn’t get the bug. He keeps crawling toward your tail. Try to bite him again. Keep going. Get that bug. Soon you’ll be at the other end. Now you can sniff all you want.

Obedience School Again

I did the sit. I did the down. But I messed up the stay. I’m not that patient. So I flunked obedience school. But they put this graduation hat on me anyway. And I still got a bag of treats. They do that for all the dogs, even dogs like me.

You’d think my obedience school days were over, but my mother made me try another class. I flunked that one too. It was the sit-stay command that did me in again. I just didn’t get why I had to sit for so long. I like running up to people and jumping on them. What’s so bad about that? I think it makes me friendly, but some people don’t see it that way.

I still jump on people. I guess obedience school wasn’t for me. But I did keep the hat.