By JANET HART LEONARD
From the Heart
“Mom, would you rather go to Aiden’s state baseball tourney 3 ½ hours away on the east coast of Florida and sit in the hot sun for possibly four days OR watch Alex?” This was the question my daughter Emily asked me this week while we were in Tampa.
Alex is our golden mini doodle granddog. Given my rathers, I chose Alex. Actually, Chuck and I chose Alex. Surely it would not be that difficult to watch such a sweet dog. Little did we know.
And so, our adventure began.
Emily brought him to our house on Wednesday evening. Who knew a dog would sit and stare at the door for such a long time, crying for his mama?
I was given the list of “how to care for Alex”: The food, the leash, the bed, and the toys. Our house soon became an obstacle course of watch what you step on.
Measure his food three times a day. Take him on a walk in the morning and in the evening. He will need to go out a few times in between. Don’t forget to take a doggy poo bag when you walk him. Remember the word “off” is what you say whenever he barks.
Thursday morning our alarm went off at 6:22. Alex was our alarm. After a quick venture to the yard, I fixed his breakfast. Alex refused to eat … all day. He was on a hunger strike. No mama. No eat.
I took him for a walk, or rather he took me for one. Who knew there were so many trees and bushes that needed sniffed? He left his tinkle on quite a few of them.
Good thing I remembered to take the doggy poo bag! He found the perfect yard in the vast sea of 93 homes in our neighborhood. Trust me when I say, he sniffed them all. The lucky (?) yard had the highest grass making it so that I had to “part it” to find the treasure he had left.
Whenever he caught a glimpse or a whiff of a dog, he greeted them with a bark, at the top of his lungs. I’m talking forte to the max in music terms. I tried to calm him with a loud “OFF!” He must be hard of hearing or maybe he just chose to ignore his granddog mama. My grandmunchkins have been known to do the same.
Alex became like velcro to me. We carried on a continuous conversation. “Good dog, want a treat, get out of Grand Chuck’s chair, Grandma is going to go potty, are you tired, let’s go night-night.” Yes, I did most of the conversing. His wagging tail told me he understood.
Chuck and I were going to take a bike ride but we looked at Alex’s sad eyes and decided a walk, with him, around the neighborhood would be a better idea.
On Friday morning, I thought Chuck had rolled over next to me in bed. There was Alex with his head sharing my pillow. I had told him, “No sleeping in my bed.” He must not have heard me.
I moved to the living room where he followed me, of course, and we took a nap on the chaise. Who needs a blanket when you have a 25-pound mini (?) lap dog?
Alex went off his hunger strike. Don’t tell Emily, but I rewarded him with a bit of cheese.
We did venture out for dinner on Friday. When we got back to the house, we were greeted by jumps, leaps, bounds, full-body wiggles and cries of “welcome home!” Yes, we heard him crying when we left the house. We ate quickly.
It’s Saturday morning about 5:00. Alex and I have been outside for his morning tinkle. He’s been fed and is back to bed. Me? I went to bed without a topic for this week’s column but woke up and knew what the subject would be … the dog days of summer. I will reward myself with a nap, later.
Emily and family come home today. Aiden had three great playing games but sadly, his team had two, not-so-great games. I’m sure going to miss my granddog, Alex.
Chuck asked me if this adventure made me want a dog. I quickly said, “No.” I’ll just love my granddog and send him home like I do his human siblings. This granddoggy mama is tired. It’s like having a four-legged toddler in the house.
Another thing not to tell Emily – Alex is going to miss us. He told me so. Next time we are here for a visit maybe they will need us to care for Alex. Never thought I would be asking Emily if she didn’t need to “go away” for a few days.