Libby's Day

Don't they know the sun is up? Get up, lazy humans. It’s daytime and there are things to do, critters to bark at and stuff to investigate.

Okay, here comes the lady. I call her mommy. She can always be counted on to get out of bed first, but boy oh boy, does she take a long time to get ready to go downstairs! What is she doing now behind that closed door? I hear counting. She must be exercising again! C’mon, Mommy, get the lead out. I'm hungry!

Since I can open doors I’ll go in there, look cute and watch her with adoring eyes so that she’ll hurry it up. There it is! A smile for me. Now a pat on the head.

Let’s go! We’re downstairs now. I can’t keep my tail still. She is opening the back door to my big outside bathroom. Aahhhh! Guess I really had to go.

Back in the house. I smell something brewing. But it’s my breakfast time! Here comes my bowl. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Boy that tastes good!

It almost time to take a walk. I just have to wait a little while for daddy to come downstairs and drink his coffee too. They both sit in chairs to watch CNN until 7:30. Boring.

They know very well that I can tell time but I start reminding them about my walk at exactly 7:25. I do this by bringing my squeaky stuffed duck to Mommy and I drop it in her lap. She tosses it in the air for me to catch. Now I think I’ll do the morning Libby show. i’ll bark and throw my toys high in the air. I’ll effectively block their view of that rectangle that they look at the news every morning while drinking that awful smelling out liquid from cups with handles. I hurl the duck into the air and catch it myself. They always laugh at this trick. Of course they do. I’m funny and adorable.

Now they are getting out of their chairs.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, it's time for a walk... my favorite of all things in doggie world. The man fetches my leash. I can hardly contain my excitement! I think I’ll have some fun and pretend that I don’t want to wear the harness and the leash so I’ll run around and bark. I know that I can't go out until I get this contraption on so I slink over to daddy and let him put his thing on my neck and buckle it up. Now I'm ready to go. I'm so happy I can't stand it. My tail wags all over. i can't help myself.

Finally! Out the door we go. Down the driveway for a long walk on the tree lawns in the neighborhood of Smellville.

There! I see another human across the street. I bark, and now—here she comes over to pet me! I know this person; I recognize her scent. She can never resist me. I feel hands petting me and now I am getting kisses from this person that’s not even my mommy. But I love it! I am a Golden Retriever and it’s my job to be the object of everyone’s affection. I wonder how many more people I’ll get pet by on this morning walk. I think the record of people encountered on a walk was about a dozen on a Sunday afternoon. But that included a bunch of six little people (I think they are called kids) at a birthday party. They all gathered around me at once and hugged me and said that I was soft and fluffy. That was the best!

Now I sniff at a mailbox post and some more grass and I realize that I have to go to the bathroom again but this time its number two. Mommy puts the plastic bag in her hand and when I’m done she picks it up and flips the bag side out. That’s a pretty good trick. She has to carry it until we get home.

Our house is now in view. Inside we go. I’m really thirsty so I go over to my water bowl and drink it dry. Daddy open the door and goes into the food hole and gets me treats. Yay! Treats, treats, treats!

They are cooking breakfast. Yum! Does that smell good! Eggs, toast, and bacon.

While they are eating, I can see daddy putting a piece of bacon on the side of his plate for me. I have to wait until they are done but it’s so worth it! I don't want to drool but I can’t help t! Here it comes! Where did it go? I hardly tasted it. But I love daddy!

I have to take a long nap now, another part of my job. My sleep might be disturbed if the amazon guy drops off a package and I have to get up to bark at the doorbell. But excitement is over for a awhile. But is it?

Then the front doorbell rings and daddy opens the door. Here comes three (I bet you didn’t know that I can count) little people and one grown-up. Oh, that's right. It’s Monday. They come here every week to see mommy and daddy (and me of course). They take art lessons from mommy. I'll follow them downstairs but I'll be bored after a while, so I'll come upstairs and play with the really little person. They call her the baby, I think. But she can walk and talk and hug me so that's all good. But first things first. They all squeal my name and pet me and hug me and tell me they love me. I love it when little people come over and I don't like it at all when they leave.

I am so tired now, so I going to take a nap.

How long have I been resting on this comfy sofa? Yawn. I think I’ll go over to the glass patio door and survey my back yard. All is quiet on the western front. I plop down on the kitchen tile floor and watch the leaves blowing on the big tree.

Uh, oh! Something gray is moving down the tree trunk. What is is? My nemesis: Rocky the squirrel! I’ve been trying to catch him for months. He's laughing at me again. He comes up onto the patio and looks at me through the glass door. I can’t stand it anymore! Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!

Mommy comes over from the sink where she is running water and putting dishes into the box that opens up. I usually like to lick the yummy food-covered dishes when she stacks them into that machine. But now she is asking me what I am barking at. The sneaky squirrel darts back up the tree and Mommy doesn't see what I saw. So she does what I hope for and she opens the door to let me outside.

I tear off in the direction of the tree. I am standing on my two back legs and barking my head off. I know that barking will not get Rocky to calmly walk down the tree and jump into my mouth. But I can’t fight the instinct! Why can’t dogs climb trees?

Wait! What do I see peeking out from the back of the garden shed? It’s Flopsy, that darn tormentor rabbit, another bane of my existence. Today is the day I will get him! I can tell! He runs into the garden, hiding under the overgrown hosta plants. I wait. I can see all around the plant and when he comes out he falters for just a moment, deciding which way to make a run for. But he hesitates just long enough for me to catch his back foot in my mouth. I clamp down gently but firmly. He cannot get loose and he knows it so he goes limp. He pretends to be dead but I know better. I get a good hold on him. Now he is wiggling his legs and it tickles the inside of my mouth. I run up the yard towards the back door.

I scratch the back door for mommy and daddy to let me inside so that I can present my special gift to them. I am so proud! Why is mommy screaming?

Outside, Daddy pries open my mouth and Flopsy falls out. Daddy inspects Flopsy for injuries and damages. He is okay. Then he releases him to freedom on the other side of the fence but know he’ll be back. They're not called dumb bunnies for nothing.

That was such a fun day. I can’t wait for tomorrow to do it all over again.