Jealousy and Cruelty To Animals

Dear Max,

Today has been very trying, let me tell you! I hope you never have to experience the kind of day I am having. It started out normal enough ........

Gramma had her coffee while sitting on the couch with us dogs. It was my turn to sit closest to her leg and she would take a sip of coffee, then pet my head and then look at her computer again. She reads her e-mails and sometimes she even talks to the computer. I know that you can video chat on-line, but that is not what she is doing. She just says what she is thinking out loud.

After the coffee was gone, she headed into the kitchen. First she fed us dogs and changed our water. Then she put some clothes in that machine that washes them. She mumbled something about Papa needing to be more careful when he was playing in oil and doing stuff with cars. Then she started making cookies. Emmy ran to tell all of us dogs to be on stand-by. We like it when she is making yummy stuff like cookies. Sometimes she spills stuff and one time she even dropped a whole pan of freshly baked cookies. All of dogs still remember that day as one of the best days we ever had!

I was in the kitchen, on the look-out, when I heard Papa come up in his truck. Actually, I heard the puppy called Toni barking her special bark that lets us all know that Papa is outside. Gramma went back to put something else in the machine that washes clothes and Papa walked into the kitchen. Max, my little friend, I could not believe my eyes!

Papa was carrying a little puppy in his arms! I have never felt so betrayed!


That is not all ......... there was another dog right outside our door!! Why would Papa want more dogs? Why did he think it would be okay to put this girl dog in my kennel? MY KENNEL!


And the little puppy? Gramma gave her a bath and started calling her Sadie. Oh, this is not a good sign! Toni ran right up to this puppy who is stealing Gramma's affection. I just continued barking at the intruder, even when Gramma scolded me.

While it is true that I came into this home and was an intruder at first, I am not ready to share with yet another dog. It is also true that I did not like Toni at first, but really like her a lot now. I did not like you either and cannot express how happy I was when we left you with my boy on that trip. But, I like you okay now. I really like teaching you things you need to know.

Hey, maybe Gramma is getting the puppy known as Sadie ready for one of Gavin's cousins!! Now, that would be okay. I remember that one of the very first things she did when you came in our house was to bathe you ......... she bathed Toni right away, too ..... and she is still here. And there are TWO of them. The puppy is one thing, but Papa seems quite taken with the other one that he is calling JJ. He keeps saying that he would like to keep her because she follows him. I WILL FOLLOW HIM.

Gramma says this feeling I have is called jealousy and will make me crazy! She sat me down and held my head in her hands and promised me that Papa would always love me the best. She also promised that Sadie and JJ would be going to the dog pound to stay until they found good homes. I feel bad for them now. Gramma put them in the store for the night. She told me they were just borrowing my kennel. She put some towels in it to keep them warm. It gets colder in the store than in our house.

This thing she called jealousy makes you have mean thoughts and I am sorry that I was thinking such mean things ......... things I won't even mention, about those two dogs. Gramma told me that Papa found them in a ditch. She said they had been abandoned with no food and nothing to keep them warm and safe. I feel really bad now. Gramma says this is called animal cruelty and she does not like people who are mean to helpless animals.

So, I guess this letter is to let you know that cruelty to animals is a bad, bad thing ......... but so is jealousy.

Until I write again, I remain your dog-friend, Wall-E

Beware Of The Mop

Dear Max,

Last time I wrote you a letter I warned you about the vacuum and sweaters. Today I want to talk about the mop.

As everyone knows, I do not like wet weather and it has been raining for two whole days now. I am not a big fan of snow either, but it is fun to run and slide around in. When it is raining I do not want to take my necessary business outside. I am not alone, Oscar objects to peeing in the rain, too. Toni does not care, she just likes to go outside. Emmy will go out and do her business, but wants to come right back in. Toni likes to gallop through the yard in any weather. Toni has been known to squat and pee in the floor, too. No matter how many times she is let out. She is getting better.

But, back to the last two days of cold rain. Early this morning, Gramma took Oscar, Emmy and Toni out. I can hold it until Papa wakes up, so I scooted over to Gramma's warm spot and took over the covers on that side of the bed. I heard them come back in and soon I felt Toni jumping on the bed. Then, I heard Gramma ask Oscar just what he thought he was up to. She did not sound pleased. Next thing I knew, Gramma was flinging back the covers and getting back in bed to get her feet warm. Papa was getting up and Gramma informed him that his dog had not been out yet (she was talking about me). Papa asked what Oscar had done. Oscar went out with the girl dogs, but stood next to the door crying to come back in. The girls did their business, but Oscar came in and went into the living room and pooped on the floor!!

Gramma told Papa that Oscar could not have a treat and she reminded Papa that I needed to go out. She was holding Emmy and kissing her and talking to her when I left the room and followed Papa... I wanted everything to just look normal. I got up before Gramma took the others out and I thought I should let her sleep, for her health, you know. So I kind of took care of my business in the hall and hid it under a rug. Hey, I was trying to be considerate! And ....... I figured she would think that Toni did it.

Gramma got up and made that vile tasting stuff she calls coffee. I saw her find the evidence of my night time business and clean it up. She did not say a word. I thought I would hear her call out "TONI LOUISE!!" But, she didn't. She drank the coffee. Okay, this stuff called coffee is hot and nasty tasting. Gramma drinks it black, really, that is what she calls it. If you see a cup of stuff that is hot with steam coming out, DO NOT taste it. It is awful and it will burn your tongue. Oscar says that if the cup is cold and Gramma is calling it iced coffee and it is not black, but a light color to go ahead with a taste. He likes it and says that it will make you want to run and run. I wonder if the puppy called Toni has been into some of this iced coffee .........

After Gramma sipped down two cups of the coffee, she grabbed the mop bucket and warned us dogs to make ourselves scarce. Of course, Toni did not listen, she never does. She followed Gramma and watched her fill the bucket with hot water and add bleach and floor cleaner. I was hiding under the table in front of the couch and Oscar and Emmy were on the couch. Gramma had just made all of us go outside and pee. Then she started fussing at each and every one of us! Well, not Emmy. Emmy is always so good and I have tried to hate her, but she is always so nice to me, I can't.

She asked Oscar if he thought she wanted to be mopping. Then she asked me if I thought she did not know that I was the one who made the mess in the hall. Then she told Toni to stop leaping in the air and to stop trying to grab the mop. You aren't supposed to try to answer these questions. Oscar and I were sitting together on the couch and Oscar told me that she must want to be mopping, since that is exactly what she was doing. I was amazed that she knew I was the culprit in the hall incident and Oscar just laughed at me. She fussed the entire time she was mopping. It was a long job, too. A three bucket affair. Every time she had to change the water she would tell us dogs to just look at the nasty water. Toni took it literally and would run over and stick her head in the bucket and sniff. Gramma would then tell her that bad dogs peed on the floor and Toni would wag her tail and then look at us and whisper "whatever". I have told you that Toni is not all that bright, haven't I?

Now the house smells like a pool smells. Gramma likes bleach. She says it smells clean. She told us dogs that she was going to crack down on the offenders that pee in her house. She said that we would all get to see what it would be like to live in a dog house if we kept it up.

I am confused. I thought that "being in the dog house" was just one of those things that Gramma says. Now I find out from Oscar that some dogs actually live outside and have a house that is built for dogs. This is not funny. I could not do this! How does a dog stay warm? Does Papa go out into this house for dogs and build a tiny fire to lay close to? Sometimes when I am cold, Gramma will put a blanket in the clothes dryer and then wrap me in it and I feel all toasty and warm. She does it for Papa, too. Gramma is nice like that. Toni might like the idea of staying outside in a house for dogs, but I am not going to! Oscar says that he has heard this threat before and that he is confidant that Gramma would never follow through. Emmy says that she knows that Gramma would never put her outside, but that she will not pee on the floor on purpose. I am worried, though. I really, really would not want to live in a house made for dogs. I like living in a house made for people and sitting with Gramma on the couch and sleeping with Papa in a bed with covers to keep me warm.

But, I was writing this letter to warn you about mop buckets. Never, never try to jump into a mop bucket. You are a small dog and you would not be able to get out. You could drown! That would make my boy very sad. Oh, the same goes for toilets. Be very careful, okay?

Your wise dog-friend, Wall-E

Sweaters .....

Dear Max,

It has been awhile. Gramma has been really crabby lately. Papa tells us dogs to be extra good and do what she says until she feels better. I hope that is soon, because I am very stressed myself. I am caught in the middle here.



As you know, Oscar is not the most obedient dog. Oscar is the boss of all us dogs here and Papa says he is the boss of Gramma, too. Last night he bit Papa!! Papa was just trying to pick him up and put him on the couch. He was whining for Gramma to pick him up. He is old and can't jump up there anymore. Papa was just trying to help and he bit Papa! I could not believe it. And he did not get in trouble. Gramma just picked him up and put him where he wanted to be. She told Papa that he was just letting him know that she was his master. See what I mean, she has gone a little nuts!

Emmy is always good. Really, even us other dogs know this. She has been feeling better since she started eating special food with medicine in it. She still can't see too well. See how cloudy her eyes look? She gets cold, so Gramma put a sweater on her. Emmy likes to wear these sweaters and she is happy.

For some reason, Gramma decided that I was cold, too. Gramma said her toes were cold and she got Emmy's sweater and put it on her. Emmy and I were sitting together on the couch on Gramma's favorite Coca-Cola afghan. Then Gramma started over with the sweater. She was trying to trick me, though. She thought I did not see that other sweater she had. I am too smart for her, though. I jumped down lickity-split and hid under a chair. She told me to come out and I remembered that Papa had told me to be good, so I did. I guess you can see that I am wearing the sweater.

She also got the vacuum out and took all the cushion off the sofa and loveseat. I had some yummy treats hiding there. Not anymore. The puppy called Toni actually went up to that vacuum and sniffed it. Gramma let her see how it sucks up things. There is something seriously wrong with the puppy called Toni. She was not scared at all. She put her face right up to that thing that was sucking up everything! I am terrified that I will be sucked away and I steer clear of the vacuum. It also makes lots of noise and that makes my ears hurt. What is wrong with the puppy called Toni?

Toni does not have to wear a sweater. Oscar doesn't either. Gramma says they are hot natured. Maybe the puppy called Toni is, but Oscar just refuses to wear one. Toni has a longer and thicker fur coat than I do. She never gets under the covers with the rest of us dogs at night. Oscar will sometimes sleep under covers, but not always like me and Emmy do.

Don't tell anyone, but the sweater does feel pretty good. Do you wear sweaters? I hope that you are not cold. Gramma says that it is cold at your house. Just let your boy know if you want one of these sweaters. I have more than one and will be happy to share with you.

Your warm dog-friend, Wall-E