Monday, a Holiday, Was Going Well, So I Took the Canine Up to Big Ys for a Car Ride and Then All Hell Broke Loose

There have been suspicions that Glamis, the Wonder Dog, likes to jump up on counters to steal food. She's not done this at my house, but she has done it when visiting friends. We've wondered if it was her or other dogs, but Sunday night I got confirmation it was Glamis. She leapt up and ate a stick of butter. I knew it was there one second and then it was gone the minute I turned my head. The next morning on the walk my guess was confirmed. She did a perfect Butter Poop (if there's such a thing - all was normal except the color looked rather on the corn-on-the-cob side).

I put it on the agenda to get more butter and to also get a butter dish (the first I've ever had). With a cover, she's less likely to do damage.

On our way to get butter (and a dish) on Columbus Day, I also gathered up the shoes and clothing that Chitunga and I have piled up for charity. I figured, why not kill two birds with one stone and drop the clothes off at the bin that sits in the same parking lot as the grocery. Gleams was in the back seat and a little jammed with all the extra materials, but she was a good sport. While loading the bin, however, she jumped out of the car and wouldn't get back in. Nope. It became the game of, "Uh, Oh. I don't think now is a good time to be out of the car," and instead of getting back in, she ran away afraid I was going to yell.

Now Glamis will always gallop five feet from where I am, but she won't come near me. An elderly man stopped his car watching the ordeal and tried to help. She raised her hair at him and ran further. When I got in the car to drive away, she followed, but I knew there was no way we'd make it six miles back home. The elderly guy kept trying to get her on a leash he made with rope from his car and I decided to start running around the parking lot. She followed. Of course, when I stopped, she'd run away again. I tried to run into a the lobby of a closed bank, but she wouldn't follow me there, so I kept running. 45 minutes we did this, laps around the Big Y with her chasing me, but not getting close enough for me to get her. I think all in the lot were getting a big kick out of my frustration.

Finally, I laid in the field by the car and pretended to cry. This worked, but I think it was because she was tired from the run. I got her collar and put her back in.

Then I got my butter, but they didn't have a butter dish, so I went to Home Goods. I found one there, but also saw a clearance bin of dog toys (couldn't resist because it was cheap) and also saw a print that was too cheap to pass up. After the chase, I started thinking about the days Baby used to run like that in Syracuse. The kicker was the print was manufactured by a company called My Dog Got Away. I took it as a sign.

I put together the display for today's blog to remind me that when Mondays get to be Mondays, I can sometimes be laid back and Saturday. I'm holding the Octopus, however, until I can reward her, but she knows it's in the house. She's been whining and looking at the cabinet I've stored it in since we got home.

This isn't a Marley and Me novel, but it's an essay-like version. Dogs are great to have, but sometimes they are so infuriating. It's hard to guess their nature and what will work to get them on your side.

And with that, I'm off for a long day.