Shannon Rist

As I was roaming the net looking for material for today’s blog, I stumbled across a very talented dog!

Daisy and her Yo Yo Dieting I remember the first time someone told me my dog was fat. We were at the dog park, throwing the ball with the chuck-it, minding our own business. Then some rude and inconsiderate woman came up to me and said "Your dog is so cute and pudgy!" I was devastated. It was as if someone had told me "Hey ...

My dog is looking at me. Here I am trying to work so I can put food in her dog bowl and she is sitting here staring at me. Not just a “hey what’s up?” stare, but the kind of stare that drills holes into the side of your head. The big-eyed, droopy-headed, frowny-faced, “if you don’t pay attention to me now I am going to hang myself from that fruitless mulberry tree in the backyard.”

She has had her dinner.

She even got her after dinner treat.

But, see, today I made the deplorable mistake of going for a bike ride instead of taking her to the dogpark… and I know they say dogs forgive, but right now I’m not feelin’ it.

Sometimes it seems like my entire reason for living is to keep my dog entertained. And this is all new to me. Until I was 30 I only had cats.

Cats are easy. They hate you, but they are easy. You don’t have to do anything at all to keep them entertained. They’re happy just lying around licking themselves.

Then one day I was in my office, working hard, completely guilt-free and an email appeared in my inbox. “We found a dog. Her owners never claimed her. If we don’t find her a new home today we are taking her to the pound.” Next thing you know I am driving home with a big hairy Golden Retriever drooling all over the back of my car.

Now sitting here being tortured by these big sad brown eyes, I can’t help but wonder if her previous owners neglected to take her to the dogpark one too many times, she finally got fed up and took off for greener pastures (or patches of grass in her case) and that’s how we got in this mess in the first place!

Hmmmm…. Guess I better go take her for a walk.