Pounding Paws – Conversations with Stella

Posted on by H.J. Hill

I am Stella, Queen of the Olde English Bulldogges. Lady Human!

Me:        Mmhmm.

Stella:    Lady Human! Pound. Pound. Pound.

Me:        Oh, Stella. Why? I’m trying to take a nap.

Stella:    No! You must pay attention to me! Pound. Pound. Pound.

Me:        Please don’t pound me with your paws.

Stella:    That’s what bulldog paws are for.

Me:        I thought they were for walking and running and digging. And for scratching.

Stella:    Wrong. Your hands are for scratching us.

Me:        I was up half the night.  I just want a little nap.

Stella:    Napping is for bulldogs! Pound. Pound. Pound.

Me:        Stella, please! When I cover my shoulders with the sheet and hide my hands, that means sleep time, not petting or scratching time. See! My hands are all tucked in.

Stella:    I like your face.

Me:        Thank you.

Stella:    Here. Let me pound it.

 

 

 

Copyright 2018 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.

 

 

 

Bring on the Dog Days

Posted on by H.J. Hill

Today I am stuck. I am sluggish. I am stagnant. You would think that the Dog Days of Summer, those oppressive hot days when you step outside and feel like someone opened an oven door right in your face, were already here. They’re not. It is a cool 85 degrees F outside. I need to relax, refresh, and reboot.

I often fail at allowing myself to relax. Even when I look like I am relaxing, my mind is always running. If I try to let it idle, my inner voice accuses me of being lazy.

The dogs are better at relaxing than I am. They have it down pat.

Here is a list of tasks in their average workday:

  • eat,
  • drink,
  • run around with tongue lolling out,
  • wrestle,
  • play,
  • chew on stuff,
  • oh, and don’t forget to eat some grass now and then,
  • pick up a stick,
  • drop it in a new place,
  • sniff everything at least once.

Work done? Find a cool spot on the floor, flop belly flat onto it, and NAP. For how long? For as long as necessary.

That sounds like a plan. Well, I would leave out the stick and the grass eating and be selective about what I sniff, but the nap might hit the spot. Maybe not belly flat on the floor. The bulldogs and I do have our style differences.

It’s a Dog Day. Hallelujah!

 

Copyright 2016 H.J. Hill All Rights Reserved.