Puppy Ponderings...

What makes dogs think they are people?
Seriously.
If say, you brought a goat into the house and fed it and cared for it, would it jump up and wag it's tail whenever you came in the door? Would it protect and defend your home as if it were his own? Would he grovel at your feet and roll over for a belly rub?
I think not.
So then, what is it about dogs that make them think this is proper behavior?
The canine pictured above is our resident "pup" who goes by the name of Anthony.
After our last dog.....left home.....I made a decree that there would never be another dog in this house. I was tired of the mess and the smell, and the animal hair in the carpet, and all other things associated with having a pet, and I was done.
(This doggie had to be taken away because he did not do well around small children - and there were a lot in the neighborhood. He was always biting them, then the police would come - not good.)
The kids went over my head and brought this one home anyway. (Typical!)
For that reason and that reason alone, Anthony and I can never be friends.
(At least not while anyone is looking!)
He does however, think he's one of us, and as I am matriarch of the family, he tries to appease me.
There have been times that I've been "lonely" and "bored" enough to pay him a little attention. (wink wink) .....I do take him on walks with me, you know just for - "utilitarian purposes" - no one else will go with me, and a woman does need a little protection in this world after all...
Sometimes I like to "mess with his head" and play little "psych" games with him, (you know, like "who's there Anthony? - go get 'em!) ...but this only confuses him and he doesn't even get what I'm trying to get him to do (he's a lot like my husband in this way...) The dog I had as a kid would play this game with me - proving that not all dogs have the same mental capacity - but I digress....
I did manage to teach him several tricks (thanks to The Animal Planet) which he does very well - but he's not great at obedience otherwise...
One day, I was feeling unusually magnanimous, and I sat down on the floor next to him and patted my lap for him to come and sit with me.
He was stunned.
He looked around as if to say; "Who, me?...really?....are you sure?" Hilarious.
I did finally convince him that I was sincere, and he did come and sit on my lap for a bit, but he didn't stay long, and he went directly downstairs to his bed - possibly to wake up from such a bizarre dream!
One year, hubby decided we needed a new family picture, so he invited his niece to come over and do some for us. Anthony sat back and watched as we arranged everybody on the couch, and once everyone was in place, he trotted right up to the center of the group, turned around and smiled for the picture!
Cracked. me. up.
I could go on and on about his little quirks, like how he paces the floor and lets the kids know it's time to go to bed, or how he loves to go camping so much that he completely freaks out whenever hubby goes out and moves the trailer, and will even charge down the stairs and ram his head into the front door, but I don't want to be a bore...
E.B. White said that

"A really companionable dog is an accident of nature. You can't get it by breeding for it, and you can't buy it with money, it just happens along."

For whatever reason, this dog has chosen us and made us his.
Period.

(I tease the kids that I would never waste my scrapbook supplies on him, but I never said I wouldn't blog...ha ha!)