The Complexities of being a Dog

Ok, I can't really know what the complexities are for Cecelia, but I have been her human Mom for 13+ years now, so we have earned the right to make assumptions about one another. For example, she knows that if she whines just enough, she will get a t-r-e-a-t.

The complexity that I find amusing today is the fact that I am the one she runs to for comfort even though I am the one causing the discomfort in the first place.

Before you go all ASPCA on my ass, let me explain. I love my dog. She is my baby. She's well fed, loved, etc., etc., yadda, yadda. I mean, look at that face! Who couldn't love that schmoopy woopy puppy? She, like a child, acts up when others are around, sneaks out of the "house" (in her case, yard), leaves a mess occasionally. She's a dog.

Presumably, as a dog, there is fur. In Cecelia's case, copious amounts of it. Much of in concentrated in her derriere; indicative of a chow-chow. And much like many of the children I know, she doesn't like to have her hair brushed. It's a humorous ritual to watch.

Setting: IHOL's kitchen, Cecelia watching from the dining room. She watches as Mom narrows in on Treat Central. Unbeknownst to her, for the sheer fact that she is a dog and doesn't care for anything but said treats, Mom is going for the brush contained in a hidden compartment within Treat Central.

Then it begins. The tail between the legs, head down, doing the death march around the dining room table. Occasionally, she breaks down and cowers just enough to give me access to the same spot I brushed a few minutes ago when she broke down.

I never really get her bum well because of this. So, I try the subtle "Let Mommy scratch your ass a little" Who doesn't love a good ass scratching? And then it's on. I start burrowing my fingers into that undercoat and loosen it nice and good. I get a few nice clumps out and she gets up and walks away...for a second.

This is where that complexity comes in. She's annoyed and frustrated, but I am the one that she comes to for comfort. In her sweet little lovely brain, she thinks that getting up. walking around the room and then planting herself on the other side of me has hit me "reset" button and erased my short term memory. Not so much, little lady. I am going to do it again and again.

But I do it because I love you...and it's sorta fun :)