Life according to the dog

Life according to the Dog

I sit here in this boat staring at the boy, Sam, whom I spend most of my time with. I was a puppy when Jill and Peter brought Sam home from the hospital. He was all wrinkled and small and was either crying , eating, sleeping, or pooping back then but he grew to be my best friend. He is ten years old now with his dark hair cut into some messy short shag that hangs in his eyes and a body that is tall for his age. At this moment we are in the small boat on Lake Erie with him attempting to catch a fish bigger than his friend Mark caught. We have been at it all day and it is HOT! I cannot believe he can’t see me over here, mouth hanging open, tongue hanging to the floor panting. The tv says we are well into a heatwave that has no sign of cooling anytime soon. Global warming at its finest. Well I am done with cooking myself in this boat. Later Sam I bark and take a flying leap off the side of the boat and begin swimming to the shore when Sam starts yelling, Jack, Jack! He must decide that I am fine to swim home because he stops calling my name. It’s not the first time I have done it. It’s a long swim but the water feels soooo good I could swim the rest of the day. I reach the shore, step out of the lake and shake off the excess water and head for the small door inside the big door and push my way through it into the house. I slowly walk to my food and water bowls my nails click clacking on the tile floor and take a very long drink of water with the water dripping from the hair on my chin. The a/c is thank God blasting cool air throughout the house. I immediately lie down on the cool tiles and drift to sleep. This is where the boy finds me some time later as he excitedly bangs into the house, “must be you’re not too lucky boy, look what I caught after you jumped out of the boat and left me! Hanging on a small line currently dripping on the kitchen floor was a very large smelly fish. I bark a couple of times, walk in a circle a couple of times and plop back down on the cool floor. Sam will be busy anyway taking pictures of his fish for his friends, cleaning the ugly fish and then cleaning up the giant mess he makes. I can just watch him from here. After he finishes his tasks he washed his hands to his elbows and dries them on his moms dish towel then begins to make a sandwich. Now this I can get up for and I walk over to wait for him to throw me some ham and maybe a slice of cheese. Yeah his good mood scores me both yum. I swallow just in time for Jill to enter the kitchen. She sees the fish on a plate near the stove waiting to become their dinner. Jill looks hot and tired from her job as a landscaper. She tells Sam about how the grass isn’t growing because of the heat and lack of rain but instead of less work it is taking more time trying to keep the wealthy peoples lawns green and the gardens lush. It’s been even harder on the two of them with Peter out of the country for work. He is currently in London designing and building a new branch of his architecture company. Jill leaves to shower off the day and I follow Sam to the living room where we share the sofa as he watches tv. I don’t care for the show he is watching but I come to attention when it’s interrupted by breaking news. The man on the tv is reporting about the heatwave and the effect it’s having on the level of crime, people being short tempered and increased fighting. He is stating there is a heat advisory and warning anyone with medical concerns to stay indoors during the heat of the day, stay hydrated, and he explains the signs and symptoms of heat stroke and advises anyone experiencing them to seek medical attention. He then begins to warn about spontaneous fires due to extreme dry conditions and tells of a ban on campfires, burning of any kind and throwing cigarettes out of moving vehicles. There is no relief in the forecast and the chance of severe storms/ tornados is another risk associated with the extreme weather. I hate storms especially lightning as I can feel it in the pads of my feet and you will find me either under the bed or in the tub.Don’t ask me why I get into the tub, ok I just do. I am looking at Sam to see if he looks or seems worried but he is back to watching some show about surviving in the wilderness. Jill enters the living room, sits in the recliner and tells us she has given her staff tomorrow off. She worries about them all working all day in this heat and thinks maybe if they have a day off in between it may keep them healthy. She sits quietly for a few moments looking deep in thought and takes a long drink of cold water before going on. She tells Sam no sitting in the boat all day fishing and warns him about denying it and points out the sunburn on his back where he didn’t put the sunscreen. Sam tells his mom about me jumping out of the boat and she laughs and tells him that I am the smart one. She doesn’t have to tell me twice to stay where it’s cool and be lazy! As I lay here with my head on Sam’s leg, with him absently scratching my head, I am aware that in my life as a dog I have it pretty darn good.