What do you think are the main differences between the way people experience the world and the way dogs do? Think about what your dog loves to do; now imagine yourself doing those things.
Chapter 7 A Dog's Life
A pig’s ear? Tyler whined at Mom who was still drinking her morning coffee. You really expect me to eat a pig’s ear? Do you know who I am? But then Mom swiped the treat under Tyler’s nose and without any further thought, he jumped up and crunched it like a hungry dinosaur. It was gone in two bites. Tyler licked his lips. Not bad, not bad at all. Tastes like chicken.
Mom was getting ready to go to work. She shooed Tyler out the back door. “Do your business, Dundee,” she said.
Business? Then an urge overcame Tyler and he ran for the fire hydrant. Without thinking he lifted his leg and a yellow stream dripped over it, puddling at the bottom. OK.
Tyler almost gasped at all the smells that overcame him. Oh, yeah, a dog’s sense of smell is one hundred times greater than humans. Whoa… Tyler sniffed the air. From the front yard he could recognize all the children who had waited by the hydrant for the bus stop: Clair’s peanut butter sandwich for lunch, Owen’s gym shoes, and Billy’s breakfast breath from sausage and eggs. That kid never remembers to brush his teeth. He could smell the candy that was in the empty candy wrapper on the street and the mint growing in the planter. Oops, a beer bottle. Yuck. And then the smell of of of rabbits!
He hopped over the holly bushes hoping to scare the rabbits out of their hiding place. After a few barks, he gave up. Darn. Guess nobody’s home. Oh, well.
Tyler spied the neighbor’s gray tabby cat hiding behind the big oak tree, crouched low on all fours, stalking some doves looking for worms. Oh, no you don’t. Tyler baring his teeth and growling had the feline dashing away as if Dundee were some cat eating monster. Huh, what do you know?
With his legs moving like a locomotive, he ran faster than he ever had as a boy. Guess four legs are better than two for running. Dogs would make great center fielders. Too bad they can’t catch. He heard the sound of the wind in his floppy ears.
Tyler kicked up his heels in excitement and starting running, just to be running, until he spied the chipmunks. He stopped and looked at one, and then the other. He couldn’t tell which was Chip and which was Dale. That’s what Mom always called them. One look at Tyler and they scurried over each other to their hole in the ground. Scaredy cats.
After chasing a squirrel up a tree, Tyler ran back to the yard enjoying the crackling of long fallen leaves rustling at his paws. He lifted his nose and continued smelling all the aromas of the morning, like coffee. “Dundee,” called Mom from the porch, holding her favorite cup. “Hey, wild thing, come back here. Some people in this house have to go to work.”
Because he was a good dog, Tyler rushed back to Mom. She gave him a kiss on the snout and ruffled his ears. She grabbed her purse and after saying, “Be a good dog,” left for work.
Why does she say that every time? She already knows I’m a good dog. Tyler stretched on the carpet by the door before laying down. Humans….