Dog Days of Winter

Life and Laughter with a Comic Canine

by Margo Oxendine, Contributing Writer

Deadlines being what they are, I am writing this in the dead of winter. But it�s March, tra la.

Of course, just because it�s March does not mean that spring is here. Sure, some of you may have spotted a hardy robin, the proverbial harbinger of spring.

I have spied robins in March. Their little feathers were laden with snow, and their look? Perplexed.

I�ve mentioned my love of snow. I have felt quite cheated these past few winters. All around us, folks were racing out for milk and bread, hunkering inside by the fire, making soup and spraying some Pam on their snow shovels.

This winter, so far, I�ve been able to make do with a broom. I have three different snow shovels, yet none of them have come out of the tool shed to see the light of day.

I have instilled in my little dog Brownie the love of snow. She gets as excited as I do when it comes time for a walk down the driveway for the mail or the newspaper. If snow is falling, by golly, we�re out there in it, romping around. Brownie has perfected the art of the Doggie Snow Angel. I have perfected the art of delighted laughter.

It�s surprising that Brownie loves snow, considering her aversion to getting her little feet wet. When it�s time for �The B� to piddle, she even delicately lifts her back leg. It reminds me of a cultured lady�s pinkie while sipping tea, and I am laughing again. For a home with only one human in residence, there is a lot of laughter going on.

Once, I had the distinct pleasure of actually seeing Brownie laugh. It was back when we were still sharing our quarters with a grumpy, recalcitrant cat named ZuZu. ZuZu had nothing but disdain for Brownie, and she didn�t like me much, either. She terrorized the poor little dog, who would scamper to a corner or under the bed whenever ZuZu swaggered onto the scene.

Stumbling to the kitchen to make coffee one morning, I accidentally stepped on ZuZu�s tail. She emitted a screechy scream, and hissed at me. No form of abject apology was acceptable to the indignant cat. I glanced at Brownie, observing the scene with interest from under the table. If it can ever be said that a dog was laughing, Brownie surely was. Her little lips were stretched in a big smile, and her tail wagged with glee.

Is there a better way to start the day than by laughing so hard you have tears in your eyes? I think not.

Never having had a dog before, I had a lot to learn. First of all, it is not a good idea to put the dog and cat bowls side by side, with water in the middle. This creates all sorts of territorial battles, much like the Middle East. The upshot is, the cat eats the dog�s food and the dog eats the cat�s food, and each believes she has won the fight.

Despite the fact that ZuZu has gone to her reward, Brownie still guards her bowl. She is often found lying on the floor beside her dish, with her arms wrapped around it, wagging her tail, looking alert and hopeful.

Brownie did not have proper manners when I adopted her. She is quite the messy eater. Apparently, the expensive �Life is Good� dog dish I bought her is the first such bowl she�s seen. It is a heavy bowl. Yet, every time I fill it with crunchies, she bangs the side of it with her paw and scatters the food across the kitchen floor. I have learned to keep my dismay in check, because, by golly, every single crunchy will carefully be gobbled off the floor before I�m finished with my own dinner.