Doggie Gratitutde

Now, as the summer draws to a close and the dry grass and nettles have been ground down into the dirt, the doggie boys and i have resumed our near noon walks at the town Park n' Rodeo grounds. At this time of day, no one is there except for ten or twenty seniors pulling up to the Senior Center for their daily meal.... And Fips who makes it a point to amble towards the kitchen's back-door.

Unfortunately, the cooks have been pretty busy and Fips has had to go away empty mouthed, and with that air of disappointed bafflement at how something which worked before (being there) no longer worked now.

Sunday, when the Center is closed, Fips stood at a distance looking intently at the kitchen wondering whether he should even bother walking up toward the door. Eventually he decided, in a not very hopeful way, that maybe it was worth a try. It wasn't.

Today, though, the kitchen door swung open and one of the cooks came out carrying a LARGE ziplock bag chock full of Pork Bits. She handed it to me, saying that maybe it would make up for the past week. "Ooooh... thank you so much," i said, as Fips and Rosco danced and jumped around my feet.

"What have we got here....?" I said as I took several steps back and opened the bag while the pals followed after me all but exploding with excitement. I gave each a chunk o' pork as the cook looked on and the doggies gulped. I took another step back, bent down and gave them two more chunks. Gulp.

I straightened up closed the bag and looked over at the cook, who was about five yards away. "You've made them real, happy; thank you." She took a puff from her cigarette and nodded.

Just then Fips and Rosco trotted over to her and nosed her legs. The cook and I looked at one another, fairly blown away. "I guess I didn't have to say it for them," I said. "They feel more than we give them credit for, " she replied.

After thanking the cook, Fips and Rosco returned to where the succulent smell was and followed me back to the Jeep.


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