It’s a Dog’s Life

Inspirational song: The Raven (Alan Parsons Project)

Snuggling with Barley, Hops, and Jasper (our canine neighbors) isn’t tough. It’s mostly pretty fun watching them when their parents are out of town. They’re all good boys, although to be honest, Jasper is a little sneaky and he thinks either too much or too well. He’s always trying to convince us at bedtime that no, in fact, he does not stay in the room with Hops and Barley, because he is supposed to sleep on the couch. So far we haven’t fallen for his dog logic.

The boys are well behaved and their routines are simple. We just have to remember to feed them in separate locations, from their unique sources—Jasper from his special food his mama brings, Barley in his dish on the back porch, and Hops in the Kong treat-dispenser. Hops was a stray for long enough that he was very food-insecure, and he never quite got the hang of eating at normal speed. Barley on the other hand is a drama queen, and would rather give dramatic interpretations of the classics than actually eat when food is placed in front of him. (He’s a lot better than he was in the old days before Hops came along.)

When the weather is extreme, either hot or cold, we try not to leave them alone and outside for too long. That is less of an imposition now that T has Call of Duty and the Mr had a break between semesters. Mr S-P has been working on improving his gaming skills, but he reports that it’s much harder to gain experience points with Jasper trying to smother him. Thanks to the game, this time around I only had to do the feeding and putting to bed once. Mr S-P volunteered to do every other time while the humans were gone. Yet because the neighbors are super cool, and they went somewhere that I’ve been desperate to visit for many years, they came back with equal gifts for both of us. (See photo) I should probably throw in a little extra labor toward the Super Bowl party to feel like I fully earned mine. I noted that they are 24 ounce cups. That’s darned close to big enough for how much coffee we go through in a day. These will get a workout.