Mama came home last night from wherever she was. Papa said she was visiting her mama but I think she ran away from us. I slept on the couch while she was gone ’cause that’s where we cuddle. Molly said I was gonna get in trouble with Papa but I said didn’t care, so she got up there too. I really like to cuddle with Mama, but don’t tell anyone. She cuddled me last night when she got home and she rubbed my ears that way I like.

That mean black cat was really bossy while Mama was gone. She tried to be the boss of me, but I growled at her and told her she’s a fuzzbutt. She’s no fun like that stripey cat. The stripey cat runs when I chase her! It’s so fun!

Those two guys who are fixing the house were banging on the ceiling a whole bunch while Mama was gone. I wished she was home ’cause when it gets really loud she takes us outside and throws things for us to chase. Sometimes I don’t give Mama the ball so she has to chase me around. It’s more fun that way. When it gets too dark to see outside, Mama chases me around in the house and then I chase her, and then Molly chases her, only it’s really scary when Molly does it ’cause she’s really chasing! Molly has big teeths and big feets and she kinda scares me sometimes. But mostly she’s fun ’cause she lets me chew on her neck and all that. She also lets me cuddle with her.

One time? Oh man, my big brother Charlie barked at me in the middle of the night ’cause I stepped on his bed in the dark and he scared me lots! I don’t like to go upstairs to my bed anymore in the dark ’cause I’m ascaired Molly’s gonna do the same thing. I make Mama get out of bed and help me. I really love my Mama ’cause she cuddles me and feeds me and throws my ball around, and she slept on the floor next to me when I got hit by that big car thing and it really hurt. She held onto my foots and told me it was gonna be okay and she made it stop hurting so much.

I love my Papa lots and he is pretty fun too. He growls at me like Molly and chases me sometimes and I get ascaired but then I remember he’s playing. He’s a good monster! I always do what Papa says because he’s the boss of me.  Mama tries to be the boss of me too. She says Sammy T. means Trouble and sometimes she calls me a nudge, but I don’t know what that means. I don’t always do what she says ’cause I don’t have to, but then she gets really mad and uses her Papa voice and then I have to be good. She’s a lot more fun than that stupid black cat, but sometimes she wipes my face off with a paper towel and I hate that! I run away but she always catches me. Sometimes she even takes me in the shower and rubs me all over with soapy stuff, yuck! I like it better when she goes in the river with me and then I try to swim away and she grabs me. That’s fun!

I gotta go ’cause Mama doesn’t know I’m using her pertuter. Molly showed me how to do it…

~ Sammy T.

This is one of Sammy’s favorite things to do….stick his head through the cat door (pictured) or the dog door in the back of the house, so he can keep tabs on what’s going on. The cat door in the house leads into the utility room and Sammy can also get a view of who is coming in and out of Steve’s office door. He taught Molly how to do this, and sometimes if I’m out there folding laundry or something, she’ll lay on the floor on the other side of the door with her head hanging in the cat door and watch me. I think Molly has separation anxiety issues with her Mommy!

The other thing Sammy likes to do is stick his head out the dog door which leads to the backyard to 1) check the weather, 2) check if the barbeque is in use and 3) check to see if there are any invaders in the backyard. If something looks interesting he’ll jump out the door to investigate. If not, he’ll give a general bark of warning to anyone who may be out there and pull his head back in. When it’s an investigation of the barbeque he’s likely to come back with grease spots on his head from trying to lick the juice coming out the bottom. He’s my little hobo dog….

1. Someone’s at the door. I don’t care if I know them, I’m gonna eat ’em!

2. Mama’s putting on her shoes! Mama’s putting on her shoes!

3. Mama’s putting on her gloves! Mama’s putting on her gloves!

4. Mama’s picking up the ball! Mama’s picking up the ball!

5. Are we going outside? Are we outside yet? Is the door open?

6. There’s a car in the driveway! I’m gonna eat ’em!

7. Have I met you? I don’t care…I’m gonna eat you!

8. Sammy barked…there must be a reason.

9. I thought I saw….oh, never mind.

10. Turkeys!

Did you ever see the movie “Crossing Delancy”? If not, it’s great so look it up. It’s ’80’s era (oh horror) so you’ll get a kick out of the clothes and the lack of cell phones.   Anyway, in the movie Amy Irving’s character has a Jewish grandma – a Bubbie (pronounced with the “uh” sound, Dad). At the end of the movie, the grandma says, “Come children, let’s put the Bubbie to bed”. Steve and I always thought that line was funny, so we say it about a particular personality trait that we’ve noticed in two of our dogs now.

Molly, our current yellow lab, exhibits a very sweet behavior. When I go to bed, she comes upstairs after I do and comes over to my side of the bed to see if I am there. I give her a pat on the head and she turns around and goes to her bed. Sometimes she’ll go into the bathroom first to see if Dad is going to give her some bedtime supplements. Sometimes if I’m upstairs but not in bed yet she’ll go over there anyway to see if anyone is there. Maybe she gets confused…    If I don’t respond, she noses any body part she can reach, then gives a huff and goes to bed. In any case, it happens every night and our dog Black Jack who died in 2009 used to do the exact same thing every night.

I’m not old enough to be a Bubbie (well, maybe a young Bubbie) and I’ll never be a grandma since I wasn’t able to have kids, but we still have a giggle over Molly “putting the Bubbie to bed”.

~ Dooney