Tag: dogs

I leave the toilet seat up, and she hates it

I thought today was a good day to come clean about my stereotypical male behavior. After I use the restroom, I do not, I repeat… I DO NOT put the toilet set down when I leave. Does that make me a horrible person?

So sue me! But I’ve learned the hard way that this social faux pas is necessary in my household. To set you up with the full story, you need to know I live alone. Well, no other humans. I have 2 dogs named Piper and Asia. They are little rascals but they are my buddies. Asia is a tomboy, tough, but snuggly. Piper is a queen, tough, and adorable. But it’s because of Piper that I have to be this way. I have to leave the seat top up in the bathroom.

Too many times when I don’t hear anything after Piper wanders from one room to another, I fear the worst. The worst meaning that she’s snooped somewhere she knows not to. It could be a friends backpack, purse, pulling a loaf of bread off the shelf, but with the restroom environment, 100% of the time she wrestles with the roll of toilet paper.

The toilet paper never wins.

So now if you walk into my bathroom, you’ll see a toilet paper stand where the toilet paper should be. Then on the back of the toilet, you’ll notice that’s actually where the tissue is. Why? Because anywhere else is fair game for Miss Piper. You’d think having it on the back of the toilet is safe, right? I thought so, too, but we were wrong.

Piper has been known to jump up onto the toilet seat lid and start a fight with the toilet paper there. And like I said, she wins every time! So now I leave the seat lid up and so far she hasn’t figured out a way to get to her arch nemesis. She soon will, I feel sure of this. Then I’ll have to move the toilet paper farther away. Is there toilet paper with a scent of shampoo? That may do the trick!

-Out of the Wilderness

5 things that might blow your mind

 

I love a good list about, well, anything. So here’s one for you today… it’s a list of things that might surprise you. I know they throw me for a loop if I think too long about them. Do you have anything to add? Comment below!

5 things that might blow your mind…

  • Only 11 years ago Michael Jackson, Prince, and Whitney Houston were all still alive
prince-michael-and-whitney
image source CBS News
  • 15 years ago there was no such thing as an iPhone
iphone 11
source Apple.com
  • Will we ever think of Facebook the way we now think of MySpace

[After however many years, I was able to sign in to my old MySpace account and my head hurts from trying to figure out what MySpace is now]

 

  • President Trump is the 45th president of the United States. The 50th president may not have even been born yet

 

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-Out of the Wilderness

My dogs like to cuddle, and I’m OK with that

When it comes to weather, winter is my least favorite time of year. My feet are always cold, I usually get sick at least once, everything shocks me, and there’s just not much to do outside when it’s 15 degrees! But there is a silver lining.

My dogs are so warm!

Check out a few clips in this montage of one of my dogs under the covers.

Our sleeping arrangement here at the house goes like this… there are 2 bedrooms; one is mine and the other belongs to the dogs. In these bedrooms there are mattresses. Mine is a queen and the dogs share a king. I know that might sound weird but one day I was at Bargain Hunt here in Nashville and happened to catch a sale on these gigantic mattresses. So basically for the price of 2 dog beds at PetSmart, I could get a mattress that is twice the size of the two doggy beds put together.

So with all that said, most nights I sleep with the dogs on their enormous bed. Hey, it has sheets and pillows so why not? 🙂

One of my dogs, Piper, loves to burrow under the sheets entirely, so she typically ends up by my feet, leaning against my legs. Asia, on the other hand, prefers to curl up against my chest, half under sheets and half out. But like Piper, she’s got to be touching me in some form or fashion. Sometimes it’s leaning against me, other times it’s my arm draped over her.

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What I’ve found with a little research is that most dogs still have the instinct of holing up in dens like their ancestors. Packs of dogs would huddle up together for warmth and protection. So there’s a little of that going on with my dogs too, and yours also if they’re the type that love being under sheets or they’re super cuddly.

It’s awesome being part of the pack!

-Out of the Wilderness

Are my dogs secretly vegetarians?

The funniest thing happened with my dogs recently. Before I tell the quick story, it’s important to remember they, especially regal beagle Piper, will eat almost anything. And I’m being very serious about that. ANYTHING. Think of the grossest thing you can come up with. Yeah, she’ll eat that.

So I came home from grabbing dinner with a friend, setting the doggy box of leftovers on a chest just next to the front door. I went to let the dogs out of their room and then to do a few other things around the house. They weren’t crazy about going outside so for about 10 or 15 minutes we all just puttered.

WAIT!!! I LEFT FOOD OUT!! Oh no. There goes my dinner for the next day. But I was definitely curious why I didn’t hear a familiar frenzied ruffle of paper or plastic bags being investigated by curious noses.

I immediately went to the box of leftovers. Untouched. Dogs acting as if it weren’t there at all. What? This was food they could have completely obliterated!

Now I know for sure they’re carnivores. The least picky eaters and they leave my tofu veggie roll completely undisturbed!?

I’ve decided to spend the rest of today being offended.

-Out of the Wilderness

Adopting a third dog?

The other day I was jogging at a nearby greenway in Nashville. This particular stretch begins/ends near the Metro Animal Control office, so, as I’ve done before, I stopped in at the end of my run. I figured since I have time, why not drop by to say hi to the doggies.

I strolled to each fenced-in dwelling, chatting with the four-legged guests. It wasn’t too long ago I came across an energetic dog named Bailey. I sat with her for awhile, and they even let me play with her outside for a bit. She was a great dog, yet my heart didn’t feel a tug. I knew she’d be adopted soon so I had no inclination to adopt her. This time around, a whole different story!

In a stall next door to the one Bailey was in (she’d been adopted by now), was a boy dog named Pharaoh. I knew I was in trouble because my heart felt a strong tug! He had blue eyes, and a spotted pink nose. He was mostly white with a few big brown patches. They said he was an Australian Shepherd mix. I learned this when I chatted with the workers there as I was on my way out. I was also told that Pharaoh was available, darn it! And he might be deaf! Well, now I just wanted to be the hero that saved him! Couldn’t they have said he has a history of biting people’s faces? He walks upright and drinks beers? He loves to pee on carpet? Maybe he’s pro-choice or something? Anything that will deter me from wanting to adopt him!

Anyway, I left to finish my jog and head home, all the while feeling that tug on my heart. For the rest of the afternoon I went over in my mind what kind of changes another dog would bring. Two dogs is one thing, but it seems like three is a whole new ball game. I researched. Mostly the adjustment was financial, but also there was a 10 or 15 year commitment to grapple with. My two dogs (Piper and Asia) are 8 and 6, so adding Pharaoh as a 1-year-old would extend my guardianship quite a few years. I decided to pray about it the rest of the day, research, sleep on it, and then see how I felt in the morning. Along with what I was feeling, I also knew he’d be adopted pretty quick because he was a beautiful and seemingly well-behaved dog. In fact, before I had even met him, there were two other families who put a “hold” on him but after 24 hours, their claim had expired.

I went to bed thinking I’d go visit him the next day, no matter what my heart was feeling when I woke up.

The next day I made my way over to the shelter mid-afternoon. I said I was there to pet the dogs. I also asked about Pharaoh. You see, I was still curious but if I’m being honest, I knew this time– in my heart– it was not my task to make a home for him. Although he would be a great dog, I’m sure, I felt a peace that he was meant for someone else. Well, when I asked the woman, she said he’d been adopted… THE DAY BEFORE!

Yeah, the same day I met him! A few hours after I left, he was gone! It’s so funny to me that once I got home after meeting Pharaoh, not knowing he would be adopted that day I prayed and prayed, I thought and thought, I went to bed hoping for clarity, then awakened with an inkling of a feeling, but still praying and thinking. Meanwhile, Pharaoh had been with his new owners for half a day already.

My prayers had been answered before I even prayed them. Pretty amazing! When I was told he was adopted, I didn’t have a feeling of regret, no anxiety about missing out, I was just happy for Pharaoh. Hopefully he now has a great home to run and play and be loved in. And meanwhile, me and my little pack of three are very content as a triple-threat 🙂

-Out of the Wilderness