“I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye! I’m late! I’m late! I’m late!” (The White Rabbit in Alice in the Wonderland)
Yes, I am late with this post – again. I was late last week too. The White Rabbit’s lament runs through my head whenever I think about being late and sometimes I sing it right out loud. Who knows when I last actually saw that White Rabbit saying those words Isn’t it funny how our minds grab something like that and pop it up like toast out of a toaster whenever something triggers the connection. Like being late..
I can’t remember what was going on last week, but last night we had a bushel of beans to snap. So many that my husband was groaning that it would take until midnight to get them snapped. He wasn’t far wrong. The eleven o’clock weather was on as I was cleaning up. I stuffed all those beans in grocery bags and put them in the refrigerator. No room for anything else in there right now! So I’ll be keeping company with the canner today.
And Frankie will be keeping company with his new buddy. Marley is one of the family now. His previous owners brought his basket of toys and beds and gave him over to us yesterday. From the looks of one of his super plush bed, I’m thinking Marley may not have made the best deal, changing them for me. Looks like he was a spoiled puppy with his last owners – they even brought him a container of hotdogs already cut up for his treats – but they couldn’t keep him any longer due to their travel schedule. They were looking into a rescue group for older dogs, and so I decided to take him in. I’ve dog-sat him before, so I knew what a good dog he is. He actually listens when I tell him to not chase something. We tested that out this very morning when three deer chased across the field in front of us on our walk. Frankie went crazy to go after them, but I had him on leash. Because I know that’s how he is. He would have been in the next county in two minutes chasing after those guys. Well, he might not go that far, and he does always come back – eventually. Marley, not on leash, ran a few steps and stopped when I told him to come back. He did think about it a minute but then he trotted obediently back to me.
A dog that comes when you call even when temptations are there in front of him is a treat. That’s not Frankie! Oh, as I said, he has always come back eventually. He comes after he chases whatever it is out of sight and then maybe lies down to rest a while and then goes to get a drink at the creek. Once the fun is over he comes dragging back. Maybe Marley will teach him better. I’m hoping it works that way instead of the other way with Frankie teaching Marley worse!
They do say you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. And Marley isn’t a young dog. He’s already eight and now on his third owner. The people that gave him to me got him when he was three. And now he’s mine. And Frankie’s. Another thing some people say is that having two dogs is as easy as having one. Some even say it’s easier. I don’t know about that. I have had two, even three dogs at the same time before. But never more than one inside dog at a time. The others were outside farm dogs. But of course I’ve had multiple dogs in the house when I’ve kept Marley or my kids’ dogs now and again. Frankie is very ready to make it work. He loves having a dog buddy. This morning he must need a sleeping buddy. They are both here behind me, snoozing away. Maybe dreaming about chasing those deer.
So what do you think? Is Marley going to like his new place? Is Frankie going to teach him to hunt turkeys? Is Marley going to teach Frankie the meaning of the words “come now?” Or was I crazy to take in a new old dog?
