Katie gardening in the dog lot
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“Katiedid” as told by Katie, the Lab!
Hi everyone,
My name is Katie. I’m a yellow Labbie. I'm the "Katie" on the “Letter to Rainbow Bridge.” I'm also on the story "Dogs Live Here." You can tell I'm so....laid back! I live with my Momma and Daddy, along with big sister, “Ellen.” Ellen and I are house labs. That means we live in the big doghouse with our Momma and Daddy. No outside doghouses for us! No Sir Ree! You might say we are spoiled rotten! I am going into my 8th year. I am healthy and beautiful (so my Momma says), although I did have to have surgery this year for a tumor on my rear leg. After much worrying by Momma, everything turned out okay.
My first sight of Momma and Daddy was on a warm spring day in April, 2000. I lived with my real Momma and 5 brothers and sisters at a kennel in North Carolina. People kept coming that day and taking one of my brothers or sisters away. Finally, there were only two of us left. I was almost scared to death thinking I was going to be alone soon. My adopted Momma and Daddy came to our pen and looked down at us and said they wanted me. I jumped for joy because I especially liked the looks of my Daddy. You see, I’m my Daddy’s girl – not that I don’t like my Momma. I love her too, but there’s just something special about my Big Daddy. When I was lifted out of the pen, I immediately started following my Daddy. By the way, my sister puppy was picked up right after I was chosen. Her owners were waiting outside. I guess folks were waiting for all of us pups that day. The last puppy didn’t have to cry because he was left alone.
That day, I came to live with my sister, Ellen. Ellen is “Epi Girl.” She's another labby, just like me, except she’s black. My Momma and Daddy set me down on the porch to become acquainted with big Sister. She didn’t know what to think of me. I just bounced right over to her and chewed her ear. She was shocked and her fur rose up on her back. She wasn’t used to having a silly puppy around. She had lived with my sister, Jennifer, the poodle. Jennifer had gone to the Bridge last year and Big Sis was left alone. She grieved so much that my Mom and Dad decided to come get me to make her feel better.
Well, you know, we started getting along that day and we have been “Best Buds” ever since. Where she goes I go and vice versa. If she’s sniffing something, I’ve got to sniff something, If she sees a squirrel, I’ve got to go check it out too. It’s hard for one of us to go to the Vet because the other screams and hollers so much, the neighbors thinks we’re in trouble. We just can't stand to be apart. We’ve tried going to the vet together and it’s a real circus. We just love everyone and we’re panting and carrying on so, my Momma is embarrassed and tells our Dad she’s not going to take us together again. The last time we went to the vet together, we were leaving and I heard some ladies breathe a huge sigh of relief when we walked out the door. I am just puzzled by that reaction!
Sometimes, I walk over and sit on Sister’s head just to aggravate her. She gets impatient with me for doing that. It’s just a thing that I enjoy doing. Also, I’m a bit jealous of attention paid to Sister. When she’s gets too much attention, I go off and sulk and Momma has to come get me and tell me I’m her girl too.
I’m frequently called “Katiedid.” I’m not sure, but I think I got that name because when I was a puppy, I did a lot of Mischievous things. Momma or Daddy would ask “Who did that?” The other would say “Katie did.” I chewed Momma’s wooden rocking horse real good and also the dolly that sat upon it. I also chewed a chunk out of the window seal in the living room. My big Sis and I were waiting at the window for Momma and Daddy to come home and I just got a bit bored. Not to worry, my Daddy put putty in the hole and you can hardly tell it happened.
I also got the name “Butterbut.” This was because I like to counter surf for butter on top of the counter. You see, I have to watch my weight and too much butter would crash my diet.
One thing I do when Momma and Daddy come home, is squeal. I squeal like a pig. I don’t know why I do it. It hurts my ears. I just have to squeal cause Sister barks and I’ve got to do something to show my happiness.
Sister and me – we have so..... many toys, you wouldn’t believe it. We have lots of stuffed toys. I’ve taken most of the stuffing out of them, but they’re still good. My Momma has stitched them up a million times. My favorite toy is a red monkey that has a tiny white tail. I like to chew on the tail. I’m afraid it’s going to come off because it’s mighty raveled.
My Momma is a artist. She has painted two portraits of Sister and me. One is when I was just a puppy. The other is after I became a lady. I guess it's really something to have a portrait painting of oneself. Do you have one?
We have a large lot to run and play. Our house is in the woods, so it’s shady and real nice. We have lots of white flowers in our lot. My Momma is gardening in our dog lot this year so she can spend gardening time with Me and Sister. Don't that sound funny? "Gardening in the dog lot?" Sometimes, my Momma runs water for Sister in the kiddie pool and Sister does the dog paddle. I don’t like to swim. I don’t want to get my feet wet, but Momma still makes me wash my feet off in the pool. We have to have showers with the garden hose. Then Momma drys us with big towels. She’s a good Momma!
One day, we had a groundhog in our lot. I’ll tell you, Sis and I went barreling out to check it out and it just sulled up and looked at us. We just didn’t know what to do. Momma and Daddy were running to us trying to get us back on the porch. Fortunately, the groundhog found a place large enough to get under the fence and waddled on up the hill. I’ll bet he don’t show up again.
One thing I'm a bit paranoid about. I get wigged out when someone sneezes. I'll tell you a tiny secret. I know the difference between a real sneeze and a pretend sneeze. The real ones wig me out. The pretend ones don't. I get one of my toys and dash over to that person and ask them if I can help by crying and carrying on. I worry so over this because I'm afraid something is very wrong. I get over this paranoia in a second or two when I find out everything is okay. Sounds odd, don't it? Momma and Daddy have tried to tell me it's okay, but I still worry. You can imagine what it's like when someone around here has a cold. Otherwise, I'm a happy,happy girl.
I also have a job! My big Sis has an old disease called Epilepsy, which makes her sick sometimes. My job is to stay real close to her when she gets sick. This seems to make her feel better. I'm happy to do this, because I love Sister very much and want her to feel better.
By the way, do you think my real brothers and sisters have good homes like I do? Boy, would they be lucky if they did!
Well, I’ll close for now. I’ll write again soon. Momma says we might start journals on Sister and Me. That might be fun!
Katiedid
By j swann
Katiedid is written by a family member. If you would like to respond to Katiedid's story, please e-mail at: ellen@takecareofyourdog.com
