Dogs are known as man’s best friend. They’re there to keep you company, snuggle in your lap, go on walks with you, protect you, greet you when you come home, and entertain you, along with a myriad of other things. As you can tell, I love dogs. I have two cocker spaniels, Rory and Chewy.
Dogs have their own language, and if you’re like me, you try to figure out what they’re trying to tell you and why they do some of the things they do.
I grew up in a house full of animals. We always had two dogs and a cat or two cats and a dog. For a short time, we had two hairless rats and a cockatiel. You would think I would be used to the chaos that comes with this chosen lifestyle, and I thought I was until…This fall, we introduced a 5-month-old puppy into our house already occupied by our two 5-year-old cats. I bring up their age only to demonstrate how set in their ways they are. Cats are notoriously opposed to change.
I’m old enough to be a grandmother, but instead find myself in my later years raising a very active three-year-old named Ruby Joy. She has reddish-brown hair, huge, expressive brown eyes, and a little stump of a tail. Did I mention that she is a cute, annoying, bounce off the walls, hyper, lick-everything-in-sight, boxer? Yes, she has four legs, but she is my baby. My husband and I finally got our last fledgling out of the house and were enjoying a happy empty nest.
Treat yourself to some tail-wagging fun with dogs in the park this weekend. The Excelsior Springs Branch and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department will be having a special dog program at Siloam Mountain Park. The dogs will run through a special course and perform a few other tricks with the help of their masters. There may even be a dog riding a skateboard.
The fun starts this Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The park is at the intersection of Garland and Ellsworth.
My Dog is a Hero is an example of a book for kids that is both fun and educational at the same time. It is about dogs that do special jobs, such as saving lives and helping disabled people. This book is written in a way that makes it easy to follow and also has lots of good, quality pictures of dogs in action. You will also find all sorts of graphics shaped like a child’s drawings that add to its appeal.
We are all busy people. Our days are filled with working, errands, kids, computers, and TVs. These are common ways we make up our days. Years ago our dog’s lives were very different. People would let their dogs run free in the neighborhoods, allowing them to visit and play with other dog friends, sniff the land, sleep in the shade, and basically do as they please. In the evenings, they would meet the kids at the bus stop, play with them outside, and then curl up in the house with the family, completely exhausted from a long busy day. Times have changed.
