Sneaky – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges. Sweetie, look out behind you! She’s got nail clippers!

Sweetie: Lady Human, were you sneaking up on me with nail clippers?

Me: Who? Me? Why would I do something like that?

MoonCat: Because humans are sneaky, but not being cats, they aren’t very good at it.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Stop That Fake Walking! – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges. Lady Human, what you are doing is weird, even for a human.

Sweetie: Stop that! You are walking, but not going anywhere. That’s unnatural and not bulldoggy at all.

Me: Well, I’m not a bulldog. And this is an elliptical. It’s an exercise machine.

MoonCat: Steer clear of the monster’s metal legs, y’all. I’m parking myself way out of reach.

Me: What’s the matter? This thing doesn’t move unless I move it.

Sweetie: How come you are walking and not going anywhere?

Doodlebug: Yeah, why not just walk like yourself? Or like us?

Sweetie: Enough fake walking. Stop it, Lady Human. Go back to normal…if that is even something you ever were.

Doodlebug (whispering): What was that about? Walking without going anywhere.

Sweetie: Yeah, next thing you know, humans will climb into a metal box with wings and try to fly like a bird.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

FALL! – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Me: It’s Fall!

MoonCat: Fall? What fell? I didn’t do it.

Sweetie: Are you sure, Lady Human? I didn’t hear anything fall.

Me: No, this is Fall, the season. You know. Autumn!

Doodlebug: Please make up your mind, ma’am.

Sweetie: Yeah. What fell?

Me: Nothing yet, but by tomorrow, the temperature will. 95° high today, high of 84° tomorrow.

Sweetie: Said the human in her mysterious language.

Me: Cooler! Fall means cooler.

Doodlebug: Why call it “Fall” then? Why not just call it “Cooler” or “Not so Hot”?

Sweetie: Humans never think things through.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Enthroned – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges. Lady Human, Sweetie has placed her posterior in your softie chair.

Me: I noticed that. It’s been quite a while. I figured it was just to hot yet.

Sweetie: Yes, it’s still too hot, but I needed to survey my kingdom from a high spot.

MoonCat: Uh-oh, I feel a debate coming on.

Doodlebug: What do you mean your kingdom? It’s MY kingdom! I am the King! Just because I don’t choose to sit in a fancy human chair…

Me: Yeah, I never see you trying to sit on a chair.

Doodlebug: They are too confining.

Sweetie: What he means is that his posterior is too big.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

The Good Stuff – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Old English Bulldogges. Where is supper, Lady Human?

Me: Coming…There! How’s that look?

Sweetie: That’s wrong!

Doodlebug: Yeah, where’s the good stuff?

Me: That is good stuff.

Sweetie: No. No. No. Where’s the good stuff! You know. The GOOD STUFF!

Me: I don’t have any of the canned meat today, if that’s what you mean.

Doodlebug: MoonCat is getting some!

Me: MoonCat is getting cat food made for cats.

Sweetie: Yeah, but it smells wonderfully stinky and it’s in a can so why not let us try it?

Me: Nope. Let’s not cross that line.

Doodlebug: Not fair.

MoonCat: Eminently fair. And delicious. AND FOR CATS. Some lines should never be crossed.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Afternoon Tea – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges. Okay, when is it? When is it? When is it?

Me: When is what?

Sweetie: The special teatime you keep talking about. We’re ready.

Me: Oh, that’s just a human thing.

Doodlebug: Oh, no. Bait and switch, everybody!

Me: No, not ‘bait and switch’. You have your afternoon food. I have mine.

Sweetie: Yeah, hmmpphh. You get the good stuff.

MoonCat: No, I think, if you pay attention, you’ll see that Lady Human and I both get the good stuff. I’m glad that’s settled.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Buggy – Conversations with Sweetie & MoonCat

Me: Sweetie? Why haven’t you eaten your food?

Sweetie: I can’t. There’s a bug on my bowl.

Me: Oh, it’s just a fly. Shoo it off.

Sweetie: Do you eat food that a fly has sat on?

Me: As a matter of fact…

Sweetie: Ooo! Don’t tell me!

Me: Look. A fly wouldn’t stand a chance of sitting on your bowl if your big ole bulldog mouth would eat when your food is set down and not hours later.

Sweetie: There’s just no telling where its feet have been.

MoonCat: No doubt all the same places your feet have been.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Tangled Web – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Me: Where’s Sweetie?

Sweetie: Nowhere in particular.

MoonCat: Check behind the couch. Follow the sound of scraping.

Me: Sweetie?

Sweetie: Nope, nothing back here but…well, nothing.

Me: Sweetie! You’ve got my little fan’s electric cord tangled around your feet.

Sweetie: Oh, is that what that is? How did that get there?

Doodlebug: Well, you know how. You started playing with it and wound it around you.

Me: I don’t care about the fan, but I don’t want you to get hurt, so here goes the fan, off by itself where no one can get tangled in it.

Sweetie: Oh, pooh! It was my best friend when it blew on me.

Me: But it can’t blow when the cord is unplugged.

Sweetie: Well, just plug it back in over here where all these other electric plug and electric strings are.

Me: Nope. That is all going away. Safety first.

Sweetie: What’s second? Is second fun?

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.

Gag Order – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Sweetie: What is that awful noise? Lady Human, I blame you!

Me: Yeah, it’s me. Sorry. I’m gagging on a lot of allergy drainage.

Doodlebug: Oh, yeah, we’ve done that before, too.

MoonCat: Not me. I’ve never made annoying sounds.

Doodlebug: Take some of those tiny pink treats you gave us.

Me: The medicine? I have. It’ll just take a little time.

Sweetie: Nope! All gagging stops now! Bulldog order! It’s naptime!

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Lounging – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Sweetie: How come the humans were sitting around all day yesterday?

Me: It was a holiday called Labor Day, so lots of people were off work.

Doodlebug: Does “labor” mean “lounge on chairs and do nothing”?

Me: No, actually “labor” means work.

MoonCat: Oh, my word! The workings of the human mind.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Sky Fans – Conversations with Doodlebug and Sweetie

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Sweetie: Complaint!

Me: What else is new?

Doodlebug: It’s hot, Lady Human.

Me: Yes, I noticed that.

Sweetie: The sky fans aren’t pulling their weight.

Me: The ceiling fans are turned on full blast.

Sweetie: Not good enough!

Doodlebug: We need more sky fans. There! And there! And there! And…

Me: Sorry. There’s no more room for more ceiling fans. We’ll just have to make do.

Sweetie: Make do? Is that another human failure thing?

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Why Shouldn’t Bulldogs Have Good Manners? – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Me: Why are you banging your metal bowls around?

Sweetie: Because they are empty.

Me: That’s because you already ate your supper.

Doodlebug: They do make a nice sound when they knock together.

Me: Not at midnight, they don’t. Y’all need better manners.

Doodlebug: Since when?

Sweetie: Yeah, we’re bulldogs. We don’t need no silly manners.

MoonCat: That right there says all you need to know about bulldogs.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Break the Monotony – Conversations with Sweetie

Sweetie: Roll, roll, roll your boat, gently down the cardboard…

Me: Sweetie, that’s not exactly how the old song goes.

Sweetie: It’s not your old human song, ma’am. It’s my new bulldog song. Nothing like a vigorous roll on the cardboard box accompanied by a loud song.

Me: Well, it is fun to watch.

Sweetie: Humans should try it. It’s a lot less boring than watching the Picture Box.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Commenting in Your Sleep – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Me: How well I know! What’s the problem, boy?

Doodlebug: Problem? What problem? There’s no problem.

Sweetie: She means why are you barking in your sleep?

Doodlebug: I was doing no such thing!

MoonCat: Yes. You were. Admit the truth, bulldog! You all are blabbermouths even when you sleep.

Doodlebug: Well, if I was talking in my sleep, and that’s a big IF, it’s because I had something to say. So…what did I say?

Sweetie: I dunno.

MoonCat: Who cares?

Me: I needed an interpreter.

Doodlebug: It could have been the most important thing ever said and you humans have all these phones and recording dealywhoppers and nobody captured my special comments…

Sweetie: Whoa there, big boy! Let’s not get carried away! Not every burp that you let loose smells like roses.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Step Aside! – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Sweetie: And I am Sweetie and no one enters here unless I say so. And I don’t.

Me: Why are you body blocking me?

Sweetie: Because I can.

Me: Excuse me!

Sweetie: Nope.

Me: I need to pass, please.

Sweetie: I don’t think so.

MonnCat: I am so glad that I can just jump over bulldogs.

Me: I need to get over there.

Sweetie: Or what?

Me: Or there won’t be any food in your bowl.

Sweetie: Oh, well, that’s different. I didn’t know you were doing something useful at last. Proceed.

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.

Herd Dog – Conversations with the Pack

I am Doodlebug, King of the Olde English Bulldogges.

Sweetie: Everybody, get over there now. That’s an order!

Me: Hold on! I’m working on something here.

Sweetie: Too bad. Too sad. Everybody goes over there right now.

Me: Are you trying to herd us? We aren’t cows and you aren’t a working dog.

Doodlebug: You got that right, Lady Human. More like a sleeping dog.

MoonCat: I believe I will just take myself out of this cattle herd right now and go back to the ranch. Nobody herds cats.

Sweetie: Hey! Yeehah! Look at me! I’m a cowboy. This is a roundup! They don’t call me “bull” dog for nothin’.

Me, Doodlebug and MoonCat: Oh, great!

Copyright 2024 H.J. Hill. All Rights Reserved.