A Tale of Two Dogs and a Movie about Strays

by Pa Rock

Canine Consigliere

We took both of our girls to the vet yesterday and neither one enjoyed the visit.  Rosie, who has known Dr. Greene for ten years, does not like the man or his clinic, even though he has always treated her graciously, and she begins to shake every time we pull into his drive.   Gypsy is ten months old and has only been with us a few weeks.    This was her first visit with Dr. Greene, but she also was very nervous.   (Several of the personal pets waiting in line to see the Doc were bulldogs of various sizes and descriptions, which should have made Gypsy feel at home, but instead they seemed to stoke her aggressive tendencies, so she had to wait outside until it was her turn with the vet.)

Rosie, whose nails had gotten so long that she clicked and clacked when crossing hard floors, was there for a manny-peddy, and she was trembling so much that it took two technicians to perform the job.  It's  a six-dollar task that I could do myself, but I have this fear of accidentally injuring my best friend, so I leave it to the professionals.

(An hour later I was at the podiatrist having my own toenails clipped.  I leave that chore to the professionals, as well.)

Gypsy began her visit to the vet by getting on the scales.  The big, solid pup weighed in at seventy-one pounds.  She is a sweet girl who craves love and attention, and when she tries to crawl up in my lap to cuddle - like Rosie does - I am trapped under her weight until someone arrives to help get her off or until she gets bored and moves of her own accord.

Yesterday Gypsy got her rabies shot, and in a couple of weeks she will go back to the vet to be spayed.

Last night my son was at work, and the girls and I watched a new dog movie on television.  The film was called "Strays" and it featured footage of actual dogs with human voices (Jamie Foxx, Will Ferrell,  Sofia Vergera, and others).  Rosie, who will sometimes bark back at dogs on television, but generally pays them no mind, dozed on my lap and ignored the very funny show, but Gypsy sat at my feet and watched the movie with great intensity.  She seemed to really be taking an interest in what was happening on the screen.  The show focuses on adaptability and making non-traditional families successful.

Rosie is a ten-pound, ten-year-old fussy and fragile senior citizen who enjoys her naps, and Gypsy is a seventy-one pound, bouncy puppy who always wants to play,   Somehow we WILL make our own non-traditional family work out just fine.

(Note:  Gypsy and I enjoyed "Strays," but caution that it is rife with sexual content and would be inappropriate for young children.  But the movie is very doggone funny!)