August 23, 2013

White Dog watched Puff food snorkeling back and forth in front of the sofa. It is a routine the White Dog Army has after they have eaten and each has checked all of the bowls for left behinds...they then "sweep" the kitchen, living room and hallway on the possibility that some morsel has escaped being eaten and run into the living spaces for protection. Puff, Nuka, and YoYoMa are masters of thoroughness at this hunt.

Puff suddenly stopped, attention caught, at the center of the couch. She dropped to her belly and refined her search by thrusting her snooter under the furniture. There was something there...at least that is what her body language said. Still Another White Dog wiggled and worked her way as far under the edge as she could. Then she pulled out and tried again from another angle. She was getting frustrated but her diligence alerted YoYoMa that there might be treasures buried.

He joined the hunt. When they did not give up their pursuit, Steve intervened. He got down on the floor between them and peered under the couch. White Dog shifted to the sofa where she supervised by hanging her head over the edge.

"There is nothing there," Steve told them as he sat upright, but it was clear that Steve's inferior senses of sight and smell were missing something. The two, now joined by WD from above, continued their search. Steve sighed and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He used the flashlight application (yes, he has one of THOSE phones) and showed the lighted underside of the couch to the White Ones.  "Whew! LOTS of dust bunnies but nothing to eat...see?"

Puff flattened herself and stretched her paw under. "Don't let her get stuck," I cautioned as she pushed mightily with her back legs. The movement gave her the extra length needed to grab the edge of the carpet nearly at the back of the sofa and with a tug she flipped the corner back.

There, under the rug, lay one single piece of kibble. How it had gotten there...or when...was a mystery. Puff wagged her joy as Steve, too, stretched and brought it forth.

"Really? THIS is what all of your efforts were for? One piece of kibble at the back of the sofa under the rug; how did you even know it was there?" he asked in amazement as Puff politely asked for her prize. YoYoMa and White Dog thrust their noses forward. "You know if you do not give each a piece of kibble that we will have White Dogs with their butts in the air under there all day," I said.

Steve laughed. "It is not like each didn't just have a BOWL of this. But you are right." He opened the kibble bin and counted out one piece of food for each of the hunters. Puff enjoyed her hard won prized plus and extra piece...the others their single morsel. And then everypup settled down for a nap, snorkeling successfully completed.