Nick

Don't know how many of you have dogs, but all of you that do, know how wonderful, frustrating, and expensive they can be.

My dog Nick, an Australian Shepherd, is about as devoted as a dog can be.  And I mean, my dog, he will not listen to anyone but me.  I cannot move without Nick checking to see what I need.  It's like he has special senses and he senses that I am not well.  If I make a sound or move, he is there beside me.  When I am home alone, Nick sees the bad times I go through and comes to sit by me and put his head on my knee or hand.  He knows when I don't feel well.  And I can say, it is comforting to reach out, rub and pat him on the head.  That's all he asks for.

Of course, he is one lucky dog.  Lucky that he still lives here.  When he was a puppy, he chewed anything that looked "interesting".  Shoes, cups, garden hose, corner of the deck, outdoor lighting fixtures and extension cords, don't know why he wasn't electrocuted.  He pulled flowers out of the ground, chewed my garden gloves, we could not leave ANYTHING out or he would chew it.

One Saturday, John turned on the TV to watch a football game.  The screen kept flashing, "Acquiring Signal".  Any of you that have satellite TV know that normally happens when there is a bad storm and it is raining so hard it blocks the signal....or, the TV is not getting a signal.  Well, it wasn't raining so I thought maybe it was just temporary.  After about 15 minutes, I decided to go check the outside receiver to see if it had been bumped and was out of focus.  When I got outside, I immediately knew what was wrong.  There was Nick, chewing away.  Not only had he chewed the cord apart, he had to dig it up out of the ground.  Why on earth he would dig down 6-8 inches and decide, "Wow, a black cord, let's chew it!"  But he did.

Needless to say, John was not a happy man.  I called the cable folks and they wanted to charge $150 to repair it.  I don't think so...got on the internet and found out there is a repair kit available.  Radio Shack had one and luckily, my live in "satellite repairman" was able to handle the task.

Like I said, he is one lucky dog.  Guess he knows it cause he sure wants to make me happy.  Like the song by Police goes,
Every breath you take and every move you make 
Every bond you break
Every step you take, I'll be watching you
Every single day and every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay, I'll be watching you
Oh can't you see you belong to me?

Guess I do belong to Nick, but he sure is one lucky dog.  Good food, free health care, nice big farm to run and play on, plenty of love and all he has to do is make sure he looks after me.  And so far, except for the puppy chewing spree, he has been one fine, dedicated dog.  And all he asks for is a pat on the head.  Good dog.

PCQ