Paper Dog

Every morning, at Zero-Dark-Thirty, I have to go out and bring in the morning newspaper. Here I am waiting patiently for the door to open so I can get back inside with my delivery. This is the Sunday paper which is very heavy and takes a good grip to keep from losing some of the contents. I got into trouble one morning, it was dark, cold and I grabbed the paper and rushed back inside with out getting a good bite on it. There was a trail of paper up the driveway in the fresh snow. The resident Bi-ped had to put on shoes to rescue his precious paper. Bella has been taking "Paper Fetch" lessons and she may be able to help out if I sleep late some day. If both of us go out to fetch the paper, then one of us can sniff around the walkway while the other one of us keeps the human busy. Some mornings we can distract him and spend a few minutes checking out who is using the trail to the park.

Then I get breakfast, and my morning pill. After this strenuous morning workout I take a short nap before the rest of the homes wake up. Once the sun is up, the squirrels start looking for snacks in the back yard. I have to keep an eye out at the back door, ready to alert Bella if a squirrel trespasses. When I alert her, we both have to run through the two dog doors, into the back yard and chase the ferocious squirrels out of the yard. Sometimes we both hit the door at the same time and we get stuck trying to get out. Bella is the chief squirrel chaser, I am not as fast as she is where squirrels are concerned. Most times I can leave her in the dust, but not if there is a squirrel.

When it starts to warm up, people start walking with their dogs in the park, It is my responsibility to keep them from coming too close to our back fence. This requires frequent runs from the back door, out the dog door, into the garage, then out the end of the garage through another door, around the house to the back fence. By late morning I am tired again and a second nap is called for.

Then shortly after noon, the whole process will repeat. It is a tough life, but somebody has to live it. The hours are long, the work is hard, but the dog food and treats are good. We usually get several tummy rubs per day which helps us relax after our exercises. The resident bi-ped sits at a computer all day long, doing something he calls trading stocks. If the screen is green, I sit beside the chair and there is a good chance of getting a head rub or even a tummy rub. If the screen is covered with red numbers, then I run and hide.

Just another morning in the life of a Golden Retriever.

Mogley G. Retriever