While Chris was down in Florida for a work meeting this Tuesday, I avoided a boring evening at home by myself by packing up the girls and heading to my parent’s house in Atkinson, NH. I didn’t get my love from dogs late in life…I grew up in a household filled with dogs, and nothing has changed.
My parent’s current senior dog is a big…BIG…11 year old Collie named Timmy. Timmy’s flamboyant, happy, and stinks. But we love him regardless. Next is Levi, the only non-Collie of the household. He’s a 7 year old pug and meets the breed’s standards to a tee…loves food, loves people, snores and snorts. Mollie is a 5 year old Collie, “daddy’s little girl.” She loves my dad so much it’s scary. Lastly there’s Jack, Reese’s brother. Like most male Collies, he’s big and lovable, a real sweetheart. So sweet, I sometimes wonder why I opted for the difficult, bratty little female instead of her laid back big brother!
Elsa & Reese just love to hang out with their “cousins” and were ready to play as soon as we arrived! We hung out by the pool, went for a walk, and chilled out on the porch…a perfect evening in my book! Following dinner, my dad broke out the oyster crackers…my parents treat of choice for their spoiled dogs. Before long, all six of our dogs were doing all that they could to impress my dad enough for him to give them a cracker. Sitting, laying down, jumping up (Reese!!)…anything for a cracker!
Suddenly my mom and I realized that this would make just an adorable picture. My mom grabbed her camera and we were faced with the difficulty of getting EVERY dog to sit still! We tried everything…each of us taking a shot at it. We tried having them all sit…nope. All lay down…still not working. We’d tell them to “stay” but not everyone was being obedient.
Suddenly I had an idea. Instead of telling them to “stay,” why not “leave-it?” I took a cracker, told everyone to lay down, placed the cracker in front of them and said “leave-it!” Sure enough, we got the attention of all 6 dogs…no one was going anywhere while there was a cracker in front of them!
And so finally, we got our picture!