The Tunnel of Joy

One of Mommy's friends, Marilyn Jensen, thoughtfully gave us a net tunnel when we were puppies. Marilyn knows what dogs like to play in! Mommy brings it out once in a while, and when she does, we dance around and hook our feet into it before she can even open it up and throw it on the floor.

Bear and I have torn holes in it... but we aren't Bad Dogs! We use the holes to reach through and grab each other, or stick our heads out when we are playing. When the tunnel is in the living room, we run through it, just because.

Mommy was gone for a whole week, and Bear and I didn't know what to do with ourselves. Sure, we got into the trash... that's a given. I carried Mommy's slippers, a paint roller, all of our toys, and some clothes off of the laundry pile, outside. Spread all over the back lawn, it made exactly the statement that I intended. I spent hours carefully placing the items in just the right juxtaposition to heighten the effect of anxiety, stress, loneliness, and doggy doldrums.

Mommy immediately got the point.

Now she is learning the root forms of certain words and phrases. "Dogging her steps". "Dogged determination". We don't leave her side even if she is moving around during Nap Time. Even Bear, lazy and placid, gets up and follows Mommy when she walks out to the barn.

Why would she ever leave us? Will she do it again? Dogs live in such uncertainty.

Yasha