Conversation about Personal Doghood

Zoe: "Jackie, Abby likes being a personal dog, doesn't she?"

Jackie: "Yeah, being a personal dog is really nice."

Zoe: "Are you a personal dog too?"

Jackie: "James is my personal boy and I am his personal dog."

Zoe: "Am I a personal dog?"

Jackie: "Not yet. You are just a puppy still and you haven't been in our family long enough."

Zoe: "Whose personal dog will I be?"

Jackie: "That depends. Sometimes one family member has two personal dogs. You have to establish a special rapaport with one of the family members. You usually choose each other, but sometimes you make your own choice."

Zoe: "Oh."

Jackie: "When Cookie died, Maxie made it her business to be Mama's personal dog."

Zoe: "So, Abby is Valerie's personal dog, you are James' personal dog, and Maxie is Mama's, but Master Man doesn't have a personal dog."

Jackie: "That's right.....I had better go check on James; personal dogs have duties, you know."

Zoe: "Hmmmmmmm."

Personal Dog

Abby: "Well, Valerie's busy doing homework, so I'll just take a little break."Abby: "I sure do love my girl......she has given me a good home. I had another family and was a family dog before, but they moved away and couldn't take me.....I used to miss my other kids, but now that I have my own girl, I don't miss them so much. In those days my name was Scruffy. Valerie said I wasn't 'scruffy' and game me my new name."Abby: "It's a lot of work to be a personal dog. It's my job to greet Valerie at the door when she comes home, keep her company, take her for walks, go for rides in the car with her, and sleep on her bed at night." Abby: "I'm still pretty new to the job, but I like it." Abby: "Ooooo! She's calling me! Break's over and back on duty."Abby: "Yep....it's good to be a personal dog."

A Crate Rest

Zoe: "Sometimes I like to hide out in Maxie's crate......"Zoe: "I can see what is going on but people and dogs can't see me."

Zoe: "Sometimes I even take a little nap in here."Zoe: "Problem is.......there isn't much room to turn around......"Zoe: "Everyone knows you can't have a good nap unless you have turned around at least once." Zoe: "See.......zzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

Wiggles

Abby: "Hi Zoe."

Zoe: "Hi Abby! Can I get in that bed with you?"

Abby: "Sure! There's plenty of room for both of us in this bed."Z0e: "Thanks Abby! I like to snuggle up with you."Abby: "What are you doing?"Zoe: "Just trying to get comfortable, that's all."Abby: "Oh."Abby: "Maybe I will let you have the bed and you can get it worked in like you like it."

Zoe: "Abby wait!"Zoe: "The bed was worked in better with my pal."Zoe: "I don't know what comes over me. I just get the wiggles sometimes."

A Full Day

Jackie: "Did you have a busy day today Zoe?" Zoe: "Yes I did! I sunned myself on the patio, played with Abby, and we all went for a walk."Jackie: "Don't forget, we got a little bit of clam sauce on our dinner tonight. I love clam sauce!"Zoe: "How could I forget! That was a special treat."Jackie: "And don't forget that we also played ball with James. You make it a fun game when we play ball."Zoe: "Thanks Jackie. I am glad you are my friend."Jackie: "It is good to be pals, isn't it?"

Jackie: "We had a full day. It's nice to just sit on this lap together......I'm sleepy."Zoe: "Hey Jackie! We could go play with the tug of war rope.....Jackie?"

Jackie: "How about tomorrow."

Sunning on Sunday Morning

Zoe: "Even I like to take a minute to be still and sit in the sun." Zoe: "Okay, that's enough. I'm off."