that's entertainment

What do people do who don’t have a pet to bring them chuckles and laughter?  As god’s people most of us don’t spend inordinate amounts of time watching foolishness on television.  We don’t waste our time being distracted by ungodly music and other programs on the radio.  Hopefully we aren’t bringing that same music into our homes on CD’s.   And yet the Lord sends us simple and wonderful things to ‘entertain’ us.

This morning when I finished, or actually as I was finishing, the dogs came to see if there were any scraps they might be interested in.  Bella is so big that her chin can rest comfortably on the table; her shoulders are even with the top. Thain is so big that his chin can rest easily in my lap and with a little bit of a stretch he can see what’s on the table.  Poor Sadie has to settle for stretching her neck to see if I’ve dropped a crumb or two in my lap.  They are all very good though and wait patiently until after we have eaten.  They aren’t allowed to beg.  And things can sit on the table or the counter all day without being stolen.

This morning, though, they were so funny.  Bella came first.  She made it in time to get the discarded white parts of my egg.  When my kids were little I always made them eat all of their egg.  (Sun up!  It’s 6:40 AM!  )  And even though I don’t care for the white of a boiled egg, I generally eat it.  But this morning Bella was starving.  So I gave her a couple bites of my egg.  Then Sadie came but by that time everything was gone except my cherries.  Bella thought those might be good, but after a couple sniffs she decided, no, that wasn’t dog food.  Sadie didn’t care though.  She gobbled hers.  Thain came along and saw Sadie was chewing something and HE wanted some too.   Now HE didn’t really think dogs should be eating cherries ( sweet, ripe Bing Cherries) but Sadie was eating hers and if he spit his out, she would eat it.  So, strange taste and all, Thain ate his little piece of cherry.  The expressions were priceless.
 
Yes, dogs do have expressions.  Bella was calm and serene through the whole process.  Sadie was ‘oh yes, I’ll try it.’  Thain was “are you sure this is good to eat?”  I loved it!

And then there are the late night calls from Rachael. . . 

My kids grew up with us doctoring all sorts of ailments in kitties, puppies, baby bunnies and what have you, so their first recourse when there is an animal problem is to call Mom.  It doesn’t matter that Mom is 2000 miles away, call Mom. :o)

Sunday night about nine thirty here, ten thirty in Ohio, Rachael called and said, “MOM!  What do you use to get skunk smell off dogs?!!”  LOL  Gabriel and Sebastian had tangled with a little skunk in the back yard.  And of course, Maxim had to go help them.  Fox terriers have NO concept of size or danger; they tear in with flags flying.  Well, their flags flew and so did the skunk’s.

They don't look like skunk killers, do they.

I knew that the one ingredient for removing skunk smell was hydrogen peroxide in dish soap (preferable Dawn) but I wasn’t sure of the other one.  Notah and Pat had gone on a late snake hunt, but I knew Pat had been talking just a few days ago about getting the smell of his dogs so I tried to call them.  Phone service in NM is dicey, especially if you are back up a deep canyon looking for black-tailed rattlers or cruising between mountains.  After a few tries to both of them I finally connected with Notah.  He got the other ingredient from Pat—in between gales of laughter!  Why is it when something happens to someone else it is worth a few chuckles, but when it happens to your sister it is hysterically funny?  Never did figure that out in 60 years.

Anyway,  hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and Dawn dish soap—in generous proportions of peroxide and baking soda will remove the skunk smell from dogs, give ‘em a bath in it!  

At about 1:00 AM Ohio time, I got a text: “dogs bathed, going to bed.” 

I asked Rachael yesterday if they both smelled like skunk when they went to work.  She said no but they did make the dogs sleep in my room instead of with them.   Oh yeah, when I get home in October my room will probably still have a lingering odor of eau de skunk! 

Throw out your TV and get a Toy Fox Terrier or a Labrador Retriever, or a German Shepherd, or a boxer/pit bull mix.  Or even a beautiful, graceful, serene Great Dane.  You will never lack for entertainment.  Or love.