November 22, 2013

White Dog got up, stretched and then checked her food bowl for the twentieth time this afternoon. She and YoYoMa at least had some break this morning as they went to the groomer to catch up on neighborhood gossip and to enjoy a bit of cleaning/fussing. The rest of the White Dog Army faced the continuing dreary, cold, wet, bitter, sunlessness that has plagued us for three days without respite. Every pup was bored and truly tired of cuddling.

Attitudes were building and patience was growing snappish...even treats lost their allure...and NO! no one wanted to practice basic skills again, thank you very much! The sound of White Ones sighing heavily and dropping back into nap positions was the theme music of the afternoon.

No one even wanted to supervise Steve as he went about adding extra layers of winterizing. He creatively built a wind baffle to keep the cold gusts from blasting into the bedroom through the dog door; Taiko who was sleeping in his bed inside but not 5' away did not even lift his head in curiosity. We stole an idea from Medieval Days and hung a lovely heirloom quilt in front of the blinds that cover our vintage wood, single-pane bedroom windows as added insulation. Steve had to slide White Dog over to MY side of the bed so that he could stand where she had been to clip the quilt in place...she snored on through the relocation.

Like Quinn, our 12 year old Oso tends to get more confused and loses his appetite when the weather changes. It is the change that rattles him, but it is especially the cold and the disruption in the WDA's normal patterns that have him clinging for grounding or standing in corners. The poor boy was totally bowled over during the ONE moment of White Dog Army bliss...the arrival of a NEW mailman!

New means this fellow did not know to have our mail sorted and hand before coming to the door where he is greeted by WD scratching on the window, YoYo spinning in circles, Puff jumping up to get a view, Taiko guarding the door, and now Bella singing from the other window chair. It is a powerful, loud and somewhat intimidating experience the first time...especially if you are not expecting it. And since the Army was bored and looking for excitement...the show was spectacular. Unfortunately, Oso, was not cognizant enough to get out of the frenzy and was literally tumbled about until I was able to wade through the mob to clasp him into my arms.

Much later, the WDA pushed and shoved impatiently as Steve bundled up and layered for nightly walks but when it came time to take Team One, Puff and Taiko, suddenly no one wanted to step out to the porch to be leashed. And when it was Yo and WD's turn, Steve had to actually hunt them down and drag them out. Seems, based on the shortness of the walks, that on one was enjoying the "brisk" wind, thirty-degree F temps, or the mist.

It is predicted that we will remain in this weather front through the weekend and are under a winter weather advisory until Monday. White Dog has already threatened an uprising if we don't think of something interesting to do soon. I looked at her. "Why is it always up to the ones with thumbs to come up with solutions?" I asked, kind of testily myself (I, too, am tired of grey).

"OK," she responded. "But no complaints with what those of us with tails come up with!"

Am I paranoid to suddenly be worried?