My first day of freedom got off to a rocky start. You see, I envisioned myself rising from a restful slumber around…oh…eleven o’clock, wandering downstairs where I’d let the dog in and prepare a delicious brunch of fresh fruits and crispy bacon. Then I’d peruse the newspaper before dressing for the day. Sounds lovely, right? Well, Artie wasn’t informed of this plan. He had his own plans. They went something like this.

Wake up with Dad at 7:15. Get fed and put in backyard. Hear dad drive off in car. Don’t hear second car or mom leaving as usual. This means mom is being a lazy butt so I’ll just plant myself right under her window and bark….bark….bark….bark….bark….whine (for variety)….bark….bark… Well, look at that! There’s mom, opening up the door for me. Man, she doesn’t look so good. Wait a minute, where’s she going? Back upstairs? Hmmm, this isn’t part of the plan. Lets follow her and make sure she’s up. Ah ha! Just as I expected, she’s back in bed. Man, you can’t leave your people unattended for one minute. Lets see… Make sure I get a running start and… slam… Hm, covers over head now. Lets try this again. Back up, and….slam. Ha! Now she’s sitting up and throwing books at me. This is progress. Well just…..dodge…here….and slam . That did it. I have the art of bed slamming down! Ok, getting clothes, that’s good, lets just push her down the stairs a little, great, now we’re moving! Shoes, that’s good. Now for the leash, yup, and the treats, don’t forget the treats lady! Jeez, that was close. Alright! We’re off on our walk!

And so, at the bright and early hour of 8:30am I found myself being dragged around the block by my stupid dog. Grrrrr. He’s now curled up at my feet sleeping. Right when he looks like he’s having a really good dream, I like to poke him.

Hey, turn about is fair play, right???