Ouch

I say ouch very frequently and far more than I like to. How it relates to this post will be explained a bit later.

Dolly had an off day yesterday. Restless in the morning and slept way too much in the afternoon. She wanted out of her crate just before dark and signaled that she needed to potty. It was more like a false alarm as she hardly did anything.

Gretchen went to bed early. Dolly wanted out to go potty again. Rather than wake her up I took her out around 10:30 PM. I was concerned about snow and ice but much of the snow had melted yesterday and it was still warm at that time of night. Her trip outside was a false alarm. She clearly did not like it that I had taken her out instead of Gretchen. She wandered about aimlessly and stopped frequently to see what I was going to do. Trying to manipulate a belly sling, a leash, and i cane is something I do not do well. At one point I tried carrying the cane but Dolly mistook it  as me wanting to hit her with it. She dropped to the ground and cowed like she was expecting a blow. I've never even said "Git" to her let alone hit her. Gentle words accomplish far more. I picked her up and brought her back in.

I gave up trying to get some sleep at 3:00 AM. I went out to the living room to watch a little TV and here Dolly thinks it's morning and time to get up. So I take her out of the cage and try holding her in my lap. She has to potty. I'm not very impressed by that but I took her out anyway.  Not wanting to scare her I left my cane on the carport. I have a problem working the belly sling anyway. At that point I began to even doubt my ability to walk and chew gum at the same time without messing up.

We walk. Dolly is giving me those concerned looks of hers. maybe she thinks I can't walk and chew gum too. Within a short period of time she finds the spot that is just right and does her business. By that time my blasted back stiffened up and i uttered the word "Ouch" a couple of times. Dolly immediately dropped to the ground and refused to go further. She's looking up at me with that concerned look again. I picked her up and took her back inside. Once in the recliner she put her front paws on my chest and began to lick my face. Once finished she curled up in my lap and went to sleep. I let her stay there until I stiffened up again. I put her back in the crate where she is sleeping now.

I tried sleeping in the recliner but had no luck. While I was trying to do that I got to thinking and all at once realized that the word "Ouch" is in Dolly's vocabulary. I was remembering the incident where one of the cats scratched me, I said "Ouch !" and within seconds I had one very angry Dachshund come charging out of the bedroom barking and growling because someone or something had hurt "her" human.

I believe she cut her trip short because I said ouch. The refusal to walk further was her way of trying to get me to go back inside.  She's done a similar but different routine in the past, trying to get me to go inside if she thinks we have been out too long. Typical of an intelligent dog the routine is a bit different each time. I get aggravated by our circumstances but then I remember that had we all been paying more attention a few weeks ago this entire situation would not be necessary.

Earlier today I read in a Australian newspaper that their tree huggers down there are ranting on pet owners. They claim people should not own pets because they damage the environment and contribute to global warming. Down there they call these people "Warmists".  The Warmist's claim that one dog puts out as much pollution as two Toyota Landcruisers.  Yes they hate SUV's as passionately as our own American Warmists do. I am very pro-environment myself but I doubt the claims about Global Warming. Yes our winters are warmer than they used to be but I believe it is part of a natural cycle. I see the Warmists as just another form of communisim.

I am surprised that our own sensationalist news media did not report this so-called crisis. I think they did not because it would anger too many pet owners and possibly turn them against the green movement. If they ban pet ownership they will have to pry my Dolly from my cold dead fingers.