A Dog Story

As this is my first post, I feel the need to set the tone for my blog. This story won't exactly do that.

I shall begin my blog with a story about my dog, but please know that not all of my blog posts will be stories. Not all of my blog posts will be about my dog or other animals, either. I guess you could say I really don't have a theme here.

I happen to have a dog. We've had him for seven years now. He's a seventy-pound mixed-breed blonde canine with intelligent brown eyes. Sometimes he's a barking, scratching maniac, and my daughter adores him. His name is Opie.

One night last week, as I was sitting on our deck in the light of the full moon, I heard a shuffling sound around the perimeter of deck. Opie became aware of this noise, too. I could see him standing in the moonlight, his nose pointed forward and his body frozen with interest. When I said his name to make sure he was okay, he cut his eyes at me as if to say, "Stay out of my business, lady."

Opie had already bounded over to the other side of the deck before I realized he had moved at all, and when I looked to see what all the fuss was about, I was startled to see a small brown thing--possibly a snake--lying near his front right paw. Opie didn't even acknowledge me as he stared at the object. he tilted his head sideways to get a better view of his new "prey," but he never took his eyes off of it.

I grabbed a fly swatter and slowly padded down the deck steps in my pink house shoes. When I got a closer look, I could see that the object of Opie's interest was not a snake, but a small furry animal. I wondered if it was still alive. I licked my lips and grasped the fly swatter with both hands as I crept closer to it. Opie's attention remained focused, and I felt assured that he would defend me if mortal combat ensued.

Boosted by the confidence that my attentive and slightly insane dog would pounce on and kill anything that posed a threat, I soon found myself standing directly above the object. To my surprise, however, it wasn't a small brown mammal, but a steak. It was a juicy grilled t-bone steak that Opie had perhaps buried and more recently retrieved. It had been cooked medium well, I think. I was impressed yet confused. When had my husband given our dog an entire uneaten steak? If Opie had snatched the steak on his own, how did the missing steak go unnoticed?

I backed away slightly, thinking Opie required more privacy before eating his bounty. After I had stepped a considerable distance away from his newfound meal, I saw that he wasn't eating it. He turned his head toward me and gazed up into my eyes. Because I know I will never win a game of stare-down with Opie, I looked away. My eyes fell upon the mysterious brown object lying on the pavement in our back yard. I realized then what Opie had found.

The small brown object was not a snake, nor was it a furry brown carnivorous rat. It also wasn't a nicely cooked hunk of beef.

It was a mud clod.

The End