Back To Doggy Daycare

It's been a crazy few days in Brutus land. We went back to the lake on Friday, but Friday night we went out for dinner with Don's best buddy Bennie (say that really fast a few times) and his wife Catherine, and got home pretty late. Bennie is leaving the states to work with a drug sniffing dog for a year, so it was a very bittersweet evening. It's hard to say goodbye to a best friend when you so desperately don't want them to go, but you still want to be supportive of something that they really want to do. Anyway, that meant that Brutus was on his tie and alone from about 7:00 to 12:00, and when we got home he was raring to go. From what I have heard from various witnesses, Brutus lays in a big time "pout" position when we are gone, and he must sleep most of the time, because when we get home he wants to play, and play hard. Of course, we were tired, and Don was especially tired after working all day, so I finally had to get up with Brutus and let Don sleep until Brutus had some of his energy burned up so we could go to bed. That was fun. :(

Saturday he had a great day outside with Don, getting to go for a walk and playing in the leaves while Don was trying to do yard work, but again, we had plans on Saturday night. We were invited to a wedding reception, so Brutus was back on his tie. We can't leave him in the house yet, because with his separation anxiety, I'm afraid we would come home to some chewed up walls or scratched down doors. If he's on his tie outside, and we leave the garage door part way up and put his kennel in the garage with his blanket and toys, at least he can be warm and cozy, and still go to the bathroom while we're gone. Anyway, Saturday night was a super late night, and this time he was CRAZY when we got home. I felt so bad. He greeted us like he was afraid that he was never going to see us again. I hadn't taken my cell phone with me to the wedding reception, and when I got home, I found a message on there that Brutus had been barking for a while. I felt so bad. When Don and I pulled in to the circle where our home is, two deer came walking out. If they were there, and we weren't, I'm sure Brutus was going crazy. The bad part would be that the neighbors were probably trying to sleep at the time. Not cool. On the other hand, it maybe paid back the one neighbor for his early morning yard work nonsense. There's nothing like being woke up at 7:00 on a Saturday morning by the sound of a chain saw. Ugh!! OK. Now I'm not feeling quite so bad.

Sunday I found out that my Mom wasn't feeling well, and it was enough not well that I thought a trip to the emergency room was in order. In order for me to do that, Don and Brutus would have to drop me off at her house and go home to the city without me. When we got to my Mom's, Don tied Brutus's leash to the light post in her front yard while he went in to say "hello". Brutus barked and barked, so my Mom went out to say "hi" to him. He's such a sap. He laid right down and rolled over on his back. I don't know if he gets in to this submissive position so we won't hurt him, or if he just wants a belly rub, or what the deal is. It kind of makes me sad, but I guess I would rather have him be submissive than jumping all over the place like crazy. Don only stayed for a few minutes and then left for the cities. Brutus seemed a little confused, but he loves car rides, so getting him in the car wasn't that big of a deal.

Now the big guy is back in PetSmart Doggy Daycare, and apparently he's having a great time. You can tell that he literally plays all day! Don said he brought him home, and he barely moved an inch after that. On a normal day, even with a couple good walks in, he would still be going up and down the stairs trying to figure out if he wanted to be in the house or outside, or on the bed or on the floor, or which one of the many toys he could throw around to get our attention. I'm a little jealous that Don gets "tired Brutus", and I never get to see that dog. I always get the toddler version of Brutus.

Hmmm. Maybe someday when Don is gone on a business trip, I'll take Brutus to daycare just for the fun of it. I can just picture a nice quiet evening snuggling up with my cats!! I only say that because if Brutus is in his normal mode, they have to stay out of his way or they might get stepped on. They only sneak up to snuggle when he's sleeping, and I love it. Our oldest cat Princess is the only one brave enough to stay on the bed when Brutus is jumping around, and that's mostly because she hits him and hisses at him. She really hurts his feelings, and probably scares the hell out of him, but he's never tried to retaliate. Sophie is the one who will yell at him if she's out of his reach. He will mess around with her. They will play "tag" every now and then, but when he gets close to catching her, he always veers off and lets her go. My littlest girl, Bernice, is still scared to death of him, but she's scared to death of everything. I see her in the middle of the night when she crawls up on my tummy and sleeps. She's always gone by morning, but Don says that she is typically downstairs waiting for breakfast by her dish, so she must have a routine.

They will always be my girls, and Brutus will always be my big goofy boy, and some day, they just might all get along and be able to share Don and I. If that ever does happen, we are going to have to get one heck of a big bed! :)