Java Dog
I set out a little pot of Vietnamese coffee to drip while I puttered around, getting the dogs food, doing some dishes, making a trip to the compost heap. That was enough time for the coffee to drip through. Wilbur was hanging out in the kitchen, watching me. I said, "And now I can have my coffee!" and he smiled and wagged his tail. "You used to drink coffee when you were a little boy, remember?" It's been years - far more than five - since I poured him his own coffee (milk and Splenda) into his food bowl, but he licked his chops and wagged his tail again. "What, you still like coffee?" His tail went thump thump on the floor and his eyebrows went up hopefully. I said, "Well, then, let's see how much you still like it." He heaved up and came over to me while I fished a spoon from the dish drain. I scooped up a little bit in the spoon and held it down for him. He gave it a sniff, then slurped it all up. "Want some more?" He panted a "yes". I dipped the spoon in again, got some more on it, and held it down. Banzai had come in to see what was happening, so I let him have a sniff of it. He was not impressed, so I passed the spoon to Wilbur. He finished it.
I put the spoon in the sink and carried the cup into my office. Wilbur followed me in. He was smiling. "Good coffee?" He panted "yes", wagged his tail and head butted me to say "Thank you".
In other Strange But True dog-related news, our neighbors do not treat their dogs the way we treat our dogs. They have guard dogs. We have pets who also bark their heads off if people come near. Their female had a litter of puppies over Christmas and they kept one of them after finding homes for the rest. I think they may be bringing the puppy in at night. They don't usually have him chained up and he's old enough now to start doing some independent study of the neighborhood. Not having her baby with her appears to upset his mother very, very much. She barks non-stop til the wee hours. She'll bark a lot during the day, too, but part of that is training us to bring her a treat to shut her up if we want five minutes of peace. They've also chained her up on the fence that runs along our house, so she's not getting any shelter, doesn't have a bed, and doesn't have anything to duck behind if there's danger. It's a much higher-stress place for her to be (but closer to actual grass rather than gravel and concrete), and the barking and chain rattling comes right through our side windows.
Last night, around 2am, I couldn't take the barking anymore, so I went out to have a talk with her. "Daisy! Hey, Daisy!" BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! "Daisy, could you please keep it down? We're trying to sleep!" BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! "Daisy! No bark! It's very late, Daisy. Please be quiet." BARK BARK BARK! "NO, Daisy! No!" BARK BARK! "DAISY! NO!" BARK BARK! I gave up and went back inside, Daisy barking the whole time. I shut the door. She stopped barking. I didn't hear her bark for the rest of the night. I was starting to think I'd have to slip her some doggy rufies, but a quiet chat did the trick.
They haven't gotten the puppy neutered or the mother spayed. No tags, no shots, either. They're in for a surprise next time she goes into heat. Mama's Little Baby's gonna be just about big enough to do the job, I think.
I put the spoon in the sink and carried the cup into my office. Wilbur followed me in. He was smiling. "Good coffee?" He panted "yes", wagged his tail and head butted me to say "Thank you".
In other Strange But True dog-related news, our neighbors do not treat their dogs the way we treat our dogs. They have guard dogs. We have pets who also bark their heads off if people come near. Their female had a litter of puppies over Christmas and they kept one of them after finding homes for the rest. I think they may be bringing the puppy in at night. They don't usually have him chained up and he's old enough now to start doing some independent study of the neighborhood. Not having her baby with her appears to upset his mother very, very much. She barks non-stop til the wee hours. She'll bark a lot during the day, too, but part of that is training us to bring her a treat to shut her up if we want five minutes of peace. They've also chained her up on the fence that runs along our house, so she's not getting any shelter, doesn't have a bed, and doesn't have anything to duck behind if there's danger. It's a much higher-stress place for her to be (but closer to actual grass rather than gravel and concrete), and the barking and chain rattling comes right through our side windows.
Last night, around 2am, I couldn't take the barking anymore, so I went out to have a talk with her. "Daisy! Hey, Daisy!" BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! "Daisy, could you please keep it down? We're trying to sleep!" BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK! "Daisy! No bark! It's very late, Daisy. Please be quiet." BARK BARK BARK! "NO, Daisy! No!" BARK BARK! "DAISY! NO!" BARK BARK! I gave up and went back inside, Daisy barking the whole time. I shut the door. She stopped barking. I didn't hear her bark for the rest of the night. I was starting to think I'd have to slip her some doggy rufies, but a quiet chat did the trick.
They haven't gotten the puppy neutered or the mother spayed. No tags, no shots, either. They're in for a surprise next time she goes into heat. Mama's Little Baby's gonna be just about big enough to do the job, I think.