The Slippery Soapbox

by **Fogdude** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 1:01 pm

I have two dogs. Both were abandoned to the streets in our neighborhood & my wife & I took them in. They're both incredibly smart, but very independent & as bossy as we'll tolerate. One is a 70lb male, Petey, who is, according to DNA tests, mostly Akita with Great Pyrenees, German Shepherd & Dalmatian thrown in for good measure. He has an amazing nose & can find anything. The other is a 25lb female, Martha. We've never had her DNA tested, but she's pretty clearly am ix of Jack Russell Terrier & Miniature Pinscher. She's a ball of fire where Petey is laid back & placid.

When I'm cooking or backing something I set a timer to remind me to pull myself away from the keyboard & go tend to it when it's done. Today I'm stewing some pork chops in onions & I set the timer for 30 minutes so they don't boil dry. Apparently, the timer went off & I didn't hear it. Martha started coming up to me at my desk & barking at me, then turning & looking back over her shoulder, as if to see if I'm following her. When I didn't get up, she started barking again & then spinning, taking a few steps & looking back at me. My wife calls this the "Timmy's in the well' routine. She obviously wanted me to follow her. I assumed it was about something out side, so I went out to the back yard & she went out the doggy door on the side & came back to start the same routine, drawing me around the house & back to the doggy door, where she went into the house, paused a few seconds & came back out to bark at me & then go in the doggy door again.

OK, so I'm an idiot. I went back into the house & followed her to the kitchen. I checked the chops & all is well, but the timer had expired. I reset it & left the kitchen to return here. Martha went & laid down, job accomplished.

It can be incredibly irritating, sometimes, when she pulls this, but I've learned not to ignore her. One of these days, she could be warning me about a fire or a gas leak, so I pay attention, now.

by **Wrench** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 2:05 pm

Great Dog you got Foggy

by **Fogdude** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 2:46 pm

Truly. They both amaze me, but for different reasons.

by **topmeasure** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 5:22 pm

An amazing dog you have there Foggy.

by **bankska22** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 5:26 pm

by **VincentLupo** » Apr Fri 14, 2017 9:05 pm

Great story Fog. You really lucked out with some great dogs.

by **2getted** » Apr Sat 15, 2017 9:59 pm

Wow, that's a keeper. I can't believe how lucky you got.

Coincidence or not, ...

by **Fogdude** » Apr Tue 18, 2017 1:36 pm

And... Martha did it again. Pulled my biscuits out of the fire once more.

I had just refilled my pill minders & put them on the kitchen table. I was sitting here, doing the usual & Martha came in, doing her 'Timmy's in the well' routine. Being the obtuse oaf I am, I ignored her, so she finally gave up. Then, the doorbell rang & there was a delivery left in the driveway. I got up to go bring it in & as I passed through the kitchen, there, on the floor, was one of my pill minders, popped open & pills strewn around.

Martha had been trying to tell me that something was wrong that I needed to deal with, but I'm too dense to understand that I need to go look in the usual places to see what it might be. One of these days, I'll learn.

P.S. No, she didn't eat any of the pills. She knows better.