Any of you out there that know my family and me know we have a multitude of animals. We have three dogs (Chief, Cudreau and Copper), four gerbils (Mama, Baby Mama, Chester and Lester), a guinea pig (Cookie) and five cats (Jericho, Harrison, Pookie, Speckles and Screamer). Actually, there are six (Blackie) at times - eh, maybe nine (there are visitors from time to time that do not really belong to us, but then who really ever owns a cat?).
This past week, the number of animals in my home increased by one. My youngest daughter, Mara, agreed to doggie-sit for a friend while the friend and her family made a trip to Florida. That made our animal community number around 18- give or take a visitor. It, the dog my daughter agreed to sit, was a friendly, black cocker spaniel named “Lexi.”
When Lexi came to our home, my daughter informed us of a strict list of rules to be followed when dealing with the visiting animal. Lexi was to remain in her cage when not eating or exercising. Lexi had a strict diet to be followed. Lexi was to be treated as what she was - a dog.
Needless to say, I am not the best at following the rules when it comes to animals. I freely admit that during one particular holiday season several years ago in a place I will not I identify; I set several animals free from incarceration by local authorities. Some animals do not belong in cages. I blame my father for this trait or character flaw, if you prefer.
I know this has nothing to do with the story I am telling you at this time, but my father and I once gave a dog its freedom while visiting my grandmother in Needmore - a small community just outside Troy. Some uncaring owners had tied the animal to a rope inside of its enclosure. The dog was about to strangle itself when it climbed upon its doghouse and decided to jump off. My father untangled the rope several times during our visit to my grandmother’s home. My father later instructed me to release the poor animal from its rope and place it in the backseat of our car. We were halfway home before my mother realized what we had done. Byllie, that’s the name we gave her, lived a free life in our home for the next 15 years or so.
My father was always doing things like that because of his love of animals - especially dogs. Once he came home with a mama dog and about 15 newborn pups. He got them at the dog pound. When he heard the dogcatcher intended to put the mama dog and pups to sleep, my father informed the dogcatcher he was not going to do that to “his” dogs. No, they were not really his dogs, but they became his dogs. At that time, we had about 21 or more dogs at our home in Asbury Park.
Now you can understand how I came about my feelings when it comes to animals - especially dogs. I think I have instilled the same feelings for animals in my daughters.
Back to Lexi . . .
Well, you can see I was not about to follow the rules. Lexi ran freely in our home for a week. She jumped on furniture and wrestled with Copper and Chief. She did not wrestle with Cudreau. Cudreau is not the playful kind - just ask any of our friends. I think I may have “accidentally” dropped some table scraps, which Lexi consumed without permission. Nicky Mac and Madison, two children my daughters were babysitting during Lexi’s visit, were not as covert as I was when it came to feeding the visiting animal. The two of them openly defied the no-scrap-feeding rule. Nicky Mac and Madison fed Lexi cheese curls and chicken nuggets. Lexi even took a liking to my wife, Dolly, and she, my wife, does not like dogs - or so she says. Want to see if that is a lie? Try taking Copper or Chief away from her. Lexi quickly made her way into Dolly’s favor.
As for me, well, Lexi is a poor judge of character. She sat in my recliner with me. Once or twice when I took a nap, Lexi made the decision of her own free will to nap next to me. Lexi also slept with my daughters and even on the couch with Dolly, Chief and Copper. Lexi tried to make friends with our cats, but cats are not exactly friend-making animals.
They say confession is good for the soul, or at least that is what I’ve heard over the years. So, I freely confess to violating the rules when it came to the treatment of Lexi within my home. I hope Lexi gets to return for another visit. I promised her ice cream next time.
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