A friend posted "How do you like to spend your Sundays?" First thing that came to mind was building a maze so I can hide the toast with cinnamon sugar from Charlie. All I want to do is eat it without tearing a section off for him. And by section, I mean a half of a piece of toast. We share because he is insistent we do so! You see, Charlie is a 95 pound Golden Retriever/Lab mix who has a major talent for not finding a bird to retrieve but can hear you opening the bread bag (he hears the twist), then you dropping the bread into the toaster and then you pushing down the lever. His excitement grows when he hears the toast pop! When you are buttering the toast, the water works begin. He needs a drool bucket at this point. He's in the kitchen during this process because its lonely waiting for food to be ready. He knows, he's a dog and has to wait all the time for someone to notice that he's down an ounce and needs sustenance immediately. Charlie's talents abound, he is world champion at love, hugs, drool, kisses, stepping on feet, lying on feet. He can jump into bed with a five minute pep talk from the occupant(s) and once in bed nudges the female occupant out so he can be with his beloved daddy. I'm used to that. He depends on me while the males in the household are at work/school. Charlie is my beloved and I am his, until 2:45 p.m. strikes. We walk and talk, I talk and he sleeps actually. Typical male. But we roam the our village greeting shopkeepers and then Charlie begins insisting they give him a treat. Reminds me of stories of days gone by when the cops or local hoods would shake down the shopkeepers to keep their stores safe. Although in this instance, Charlie is given a treat and the shopkeeper is more than happy to do so. Win-win all around. Except the idea of taking him out for a walk and getting him exercise is quickly replaced with the need for his next "fix". He's less expensive than taking out the boys that's for sure. Charlie is a people magnet, the boys aren't. People scratch his ears, toddlers want to ride him (I don't recommend they climb on him) and Charlie wants to eat whatever treat is in their hand, especially ice cream. He loves ice cream for sure.
But Charlie's greatest, most impressive talent by far, and one he did not keep secret for too long, is his devotion to all that is FOOD. If we trained him better, (flunked out of obedience school with a German teacher, I might add) we would have avoided about 30 pounds. We should change our name to "Frankenstein" since we created this monster. He was sickly when we first got him. Charlie is a rescue and almost died three times before he was 3 months old. He had Parvovirus and $1,600 and a week and a half in the hospital later, came home to us, his adoring family. This is where the bonding began between doggie and daddy. So its been that way for almost 10 years. He hears food, he comes running; he sees food he won't lunge but he will be patient until you have a tiny morsel that he almost wills into his mouth. He likes my cooking but doesn't chew it, just swallows it and goes to a different family member for his next piece. My husband and I are the biggest offenders and our sons are his least favorite targets. He is so patient at dinner. I've thought on many occasions giving him an I.V. drip because the drooling resembles a leaky faucet and as such must be suffering a bit of dehydration. Charlie can work it, there is no doubt. Hell, at 3 months he was climbing into the dishwasher to get any scraps I missed in the sink. I remember shutting the door on him thinking it would scare him. Nope, he just kept on licking. Good thing I had that load on sanitize.
As I'm writing all those words I just now thought my husband is an enabler because he thinks of Charlie as his fourth son. I must remember to begin torture to stop hubby from giving in to Charlie all the time. I'm guilty as well and will undergo psychoanalysis to change my behavior.
So there it is, how I have to spend my Sundays. Off to the pool now, where Charlie is not a member. He will be recharging his batteries no doubt for dinner tonight. I, in turn, will begin badgering my husband quietly enough so no one at the swim club will hear me chastise him for his bad behavior these past 10 years. Which, by the way, he learned from his dad (hehehe).
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