No need for excessive Force

Goin' back thru our AHS reports...this was one really for the books. But it demonstrates why us 'dales really are smarter then he average <clearin' my throat> dog.

7:30am-the doorbell? WTHeck? Mom was still in bed...dad had left for work an' Lexie an' I were doin' our "snoozin' w/mom routine". Lexie an' I immediately jumped into action an' sounded off alarms while runnin' to the door.

By the time mom got kinda dressed an' made it to the front door... there, no one was there.

Then we heard 'em in the back. "lectric workers. Lexie & I took off out her lil' door before mom could even make it thru the livin' room. We wouldn't let them anywhere near the backdoor or patio. I was roarin'....Lexie was standin' her ground w/me an' givin' off warnin's that'd made big men quake in their boots.

Finally, Lexie knowin' I had this....went to check on mom, who was still in the house w/the big door shut. , I stayed on the guy till he went back over the fence just like he came, but a lil' faster.

Mom was so proud of us, we didn't bite anyone, but he was a believer & didn't get very far in our yard!! We did our job...protected mom an' the house. He was just a guy doin' his job...but he did not have clearance for goin' in our yard...an' he sure wasn't gonna get near the back door. If he had been puttin' off bad vibes....the story may have had a different endin'. But it just goes to show you that you don't always need excessive force just firm an' clear warnin's an' the willingness to follow thru if they don't listen or believe.

Who's the Angry Bird?

Another pourin' down rain day. Mom's about to go stir crazy....but Lexie's doin' her best to keep mom busy...washin' towels. Couldn't believe it...yesterday, while rainin'...Lexie even went swimmin' in the pond. Mom did manage to keep her door closed & keep Lexie from nappin' in it. I even had to put my paw down at one point. Me & mom were on the couch watchin' tv..& here comes Lexie runnin' in soakin' wet. (She does come inside if it starts rainin' really hard). Of course, the first thing she does is start rubbin' herself against the covers on the chairs & then the couch. When she got to rubbin' on the couch by me...I grumbled at her...hey, I didn't choose to get wet...I was nice & dry in the house. It's rainin' even more, today. Mom's got towels everywhere...including the washing machine (I think she was about to run out). She's already given us a bully stick, Lexie her kong w/peanut butter, played "find it" in the house, dried Lexie off a couple of time....it looks to be a lonnnggggg day. Mom's dug out Lexie's microfiber Angry Bird towel, hopin' she can get caught up on washin' towels. Lexie's finally settled down to nap in the big chair by the back door & watch the rain. Me? Don't tell Lexie...but mom let me nap in her bed, there's nothin' better than listenin' to the rain & bein' able to stretch out on the big bed in the middle of the day..alone...lol

Up on the Roof top......

AHS Report---Last nite, I had to interrupt mom  (she was on the c'mpute). I needed help. Me & Lexie caught a tresspasser, & although we had him trapped....he was outa reach.

I left Lexie in charge of keepin' an eye on him,  & I went inside to get mom. She's our "go to person" for nite jobs. She sensed the emergency & grabbed her trusty flashlite & followed me outback. It wasn't far (& just so you know..she was still dressed for a change).  It was right outside the back door. I showed her the tree we were tryin' to climb, & she checked it out...but didn't see anything. So, I had to show her to look past that tree  (sometimes I just have to be patient an' lead her). Me & Lexie backed off & was lookin' at the roof. She got the message & shined that lite up there...& lo & behold she saw it. It was the biggest ol' possum ever! It was sittin' up on the roof w/only one beady red shiny eye, just starin' down at us like a challenge. Then he disappeared over the top of the roof. So, we all ran in the house. I went to my front window & mom went out front. Sure 'nuff, there he was. Then he went to the back...mom came back inside & we all went to the back...
He saw us..an' ran back to the front.  Then mom went back out front...Lexie stayed in the back...I waited for mom in the house. After the third round of this...me & Lexie decided to take a snack break & watch mom  (it was kinda funny..her goin' back n' forth). She finally gave up, too, & decided that that possum could just spend the nite up there. Since it's after midnite, mom decided that we don't need to be out huntin' anymore tonite  (I didn't bother tellin' her that we had given up before she did).

Anyway,  I'm keepin' watch out the front window, just in case ..an' Lexie's sleepin' by the backdoor...so, we've got it covered.  

The Meetin'......

When dad came home for lunch...he called a meetin' w/mom...an' me.   

 I kinda knew what it was about...but, I wasn't really concerned about it....  I let him have his say....well, his complaint.

He told mom about how his mornin's go before he goes to work.   That me an' Lexie keep him company as he gets his coffee...checks his messages on the computer.....I usually lay on the couch where I can keep track of what he's up to.  Lexie lays around by the back door or the kitchen hopin' he's gonna share somethin' w/her.   That's all fine an' dandy, accordin' to him.   BUT....if he even looks like he's goin' back in the bedroom...I immediately race him (an' I always win) to the bedroom an' jump up in the bed by mom...on his pillow.   An' he's not allowed

So?......was my reply.    That's my job....no one disturbs mom.   It's not like this is new info.....she would never have recuperated if I hadn't put that rule in place when she broke her back.  I stayed watch over her for weeks....an' like I said....NO ONE disturbs mom.   I'm not changin' that rule for nothin'.    

Mom's reaction was....well, she just started laughin' at us...an' then told us to work it out.

I told dad I still loved him....an' he said he loved me....we agreed to disagree...'cause I'm not changin'....an' he's just gonna have to be faster...especially on his days off......

Mom had a lil' glint in her eye...an' I thought I heard her mutterin' somethin' about me bein' her hero....'cause she really don't like to get woken up, when she's allowed to sleep....somethin' about me an' Lexie have changed her sleep pattern for all time...have no idea what she's talkin' about.

Burgers an'......

It really was a good day around here. Mom got stuck in a parkin' lot w/a dead car. It was really hot, so we didn't get to go w/her. Good thing, too!...She called the AAA people an' dad. It's the first time she's ever had to call them an' thought it was kinda cool that when she started to tell them where she was, they already knew an' gave her the address. They tracked her phone w/GPS.

While she waited, she had the car door open to let in a lil' breeze....even w/the door open, she was in her lil' parkin' spot...but a bunch of ladies drove by givin' her bad looks as if she was keepin' 'em from parkin' in the spot next to her. One even waited a bit for her to close her door....by that time mom was in a "mood"..a "hot mood"...an' just glared back. She wasn't preventin' anyone from parkin' next to her..well, except for the incompetent drivers.

Anyway, dad got off early an' came to rescue her w/the hummer full of AC. He said she could take it home an' he'd wait for the service guy. She did, but since we only live a few minutes away, she went home an' got him a big cold icy drink an' drove it back to him....'cause she knew he has gonna be hot an' thirsty in no time. As she drove off, she saw the service guy find him.

After a lil' bit, dad came home w/the car all runnin' smooth...w/a new battery. Then mom said that since we all missed lunch, we needed to go for a ride. Well, she didn't have to tell me an' Lexie twice. We didn't even do the circus routine.....there was a lil' pullin' to the car, though..but we were a bit excited. Dad drove the long way to make the ride last. Then he got a big bag of burgers an' fries. Lexie an' I were salavatin' on that bag....you just can't imagine how good those things smell in a car.

Both of us wanted to carry that bag in the house, but for some reason, mom said she didn't trust us. An' if they thought we were pullin' when we left...you shoulda' seen us drag dad in the house...an' to the kitchen to be specific. We were positive that bag of burgers was for us.

Mom finally made it to the kitchen an' started unloadin' that bag...she got out plates...one, two......an' then two lil' ones....then laid out burgers on each one........Lexie an' I planted ourselves down in front of those two lil' ones. (mom uses those for us all the time)....(btw..you have no idea how hard it is to sit still an' not wriggle when there's burgers...right there...).Then she cute 'em up (I blame this on Lexie who'd can stuff a whole burger in her mouth an' swallow it).....finally, she put those plates down for us.

The problem w/the car was annoyin'.to mom at the time..but it worked out w/out much fuss....it's done an' over with.. It was just a "thing". Personally, I've got to tell you...there's nothin'...nothin' that makes a day better then a burger...a whole burger (even if it's cut up). It just tastes so good an' that makes us happy.....an' know what....seein' how much we enjoyed it...mom said it made her an' dad smile...an' made the whole day better. An' reminded her that it's the small things that are really the big things.......the rest....pfffttt

The Trauma of it All.......

I can't even believe what happened this mornin'.
On a scale of 1 to 10, it's a 15 or 20.   I haven't quite decided how I'm going to deal with it, but I do know it'll never happen again.
It's a good thing I'm a secure confident type, or the trauma would have been too much to overcome.

As you know, dad goes to work super early....mom stays in bed.  He lets us out as he's gettin' ready an' then calls us in right before he leaves for work....this is about 3:30 am.

Usually, we're ready an' come right back inside an' then go camp out w/mom.  Not this mornin'....we caught somethin' in our backyard.  Dad finally got Lexie come inside, but not me.   I had somethin' cornered behind mom's greenhouse.  Dad had to leave...an' he was a lil' exasperated w/me...but hey...I had a job to do, too!  So, he left me out there an' went to work.   Right before he got to work...the skies opened up w/a gully washer.

Dad started panicin'....an' callin' mom...in fact..he called about 10 times....he realized that he had let us out w/the big door an' never opened Lexie's lil' door.....an' it was pourin' ...hard...a real frog straggler....an' I was locked out.   Mom never heard the phone....since he goes to bed so early, the ringer was turned off on the phone in the bedroom.

I hollered....Lexie tried addin' her voice...mom heard us...but thought we wanted outside since all the noise was comin' from the backdoor.  She told us to quiet down.   After awhile....of constant hollerin' from me...an' intermittent demands from Lexie...mom got up..

As soon as mom rounded the corner an' saw Lexie...only Lexie at the backdoor...an' Lexie began to try to explain to mom what was goin' on...mom ran to the backdoor to let me in.....at that moment she didn't know it was rainin'.

I barrelled inside....never been so glad to see mom...ever!   I rubbed against her, went between her legs...just couldn't get close enough I was so relieved.   At that moment...she realized it had been rainin'...since she was soaked.  Even Lexie was rubbin' against me an' mom...an' she was wet now, too.  

Mom turned on all the lites...grabbed towels...an' kept huggin' me an' pettin' me...w/ tears in her eyes....she was so upset for me....I had been at the backdoor in the rain for about 30 minutes w/water just pourin' down on me. In soaked jammies, she dried me off...checked me all over....gave me an' Lexie some bacon treats..then she changed clothes an' we all piled in her bed.

Later this mornin', when mom got her coffee....she went outside.....Lexie grabbed one of her stuffies an' followed......me?...I declined to go outside.  Mom was a lil' sad...but said it was ok.   After a bit of thinkin' about it, I couldn't resist goin' out there w/mom an' Lexie...the sun's shinin'....there's standin' water everywhere, which I avoid anyway.....an' it looks to be a nice day.

Mom turned on the ringer on the phone in her bedroom, dad even agreed..he said he can just ignore it if it rings when he's tryin' to sleep.  She, also, said that she'll never ignore us no matter how annoyin' we might sound when we're makin' a racket at the doors....she'll go see an' tell us to quiet down in person, lol.   Dad says he'll always leave Lexie's door open if he has to leave one of us out.....so, it's all good.....an' in the meantime...I'm gonna milk this for dayssssss.....while the folks are still in a vulnerable state.