Betrayal

Sunday our standard poodle puppies turned four, it's hard to believe we were there from the start. When I say from the start, I mean from the moment I turned my back on Daisy thinking she was following me in from the barn, the little hussy.

Now let me explain a few things about poodles.  First they learn language, so be careful what you say, never ever call them a dog, they take offense to that, call them Poodles. They also learn places like D and B Supply and Lowe's.  We will cover this part later.

Second they learn things like how to read clocks.  Boo Boo knows when the clock reads three in the morning, because he gets 5 minutes of snuggle time with Brenda each morning.  Problem is he hasn't learned Saturday and Sunday.

Third, no matter how much you try, they choose you, you don't choose them.  On the first day the puppies were born, Brenda chose one, "Griz", that she was determined to be hers.  She would snuggle him everyday. She even put a mark on the inside of his ear so she knew which one he was.  He was the one to love her forever and be her poodle buddy.  That life long bond ended when I took him for his first car ride.  He came home and promptly informed Brenda that it was over, he had found a new love and it was adventure.

Boomer we inherited from my orthodontist and from day one decided I was his.  Like I said, they choose you, not the other way around.  So I have a pair of 70lb, white, standard poodle bookends, who not only follow me where ever I go, but are also each others wing men. For years Boomer and Griz have gone with me whenever I go out, especially if they get to go in, like Lowe's, Legacy Feed and Fuel, D and  B Supply and if the weather isn't too hot, they will just sit in the car.

Sometimes when we are in the truck, they will each sit on a side like one is driving and the other along riding shotgun.  I've watched people stop and take pictures of them.  I've also watched as they lure them in thinking "oh what a nice doggie."  Right down to when they get close to the door and the two of them come unglued.  I would be willing to bet along with some pulled muscles from suddenly moving so fast, a few wet drawers have had to been changed. I really don't know why but they love going for a ride.

This last Saturday morning we were watching "M" our grandson while his mom and dad did the "Dirty Dash."  I had to do some running, so I planned on taking "M" with me.  Well I made the mistake of using the words D and B along with Lowe's.

As I was putting "M" in the car, I heard this loud moan, like it was the last thing to ever be said between two friends.  Come to find out it was Boomer,  flopped down by the back door and stayed there until I came back a couple hours later. Without thinking, I had not only broken the Poodle/Bro code, I had totally betrayed Boomer by going to his two favorite spots without him, Lowe's and D and B Supply.  There was no denying it, I had the smells of both places on me and with one more sniff, he smelled Burger King.  It was bad.

The hurt was evident on his face and there was only one thing that would make up for my flagrant breaking of our code.  I had to take him for a ride, in the truck. So I loaded him and Griz in, drove to the shed, threw some fence in the back, all the while leaving him in the cab with the windows wide open.  I then hopped back in and drove about 100ft where I would be working on the fence. I opened the door of the truck and told him to get out we had work to do.  He loves helping as much as he loves going on rides.

It was done, that's all it took, the Poodle/Bro code had been restored....If only it were that easy with women. Think about it, "come on honey, let's go for a ride, now wait right here in the heat with the windows open while I do something, then we'll go a little farther before you can get out.  OK hop out now and let's get to work.

Like my grandad used to say, "you want to find out who loves you most?  Just lock your wife and dog in the trunk for an hour and see who's happy to see you when you let them out".  I'm gonna be so dead if Brenda reads this.

Kevin