From the mouths of dogs

"my halo is temporarily out of order" was the message on the front of our neighbor's shirt. Mrs. "Paw-lie"s attire often reflects her tongue-in-cheek attitude. On the downhill slope of her seventieth decade, she's entitled to a bit of attitude. She loves my dog though, always carrying treats in her pocket, just in case we happen to stop by on our neighborhood excursions. An owner of two canines herself, it's not surprising that one of her shirts proclaims "Today's Agenda" as: "let the dog out, let the dog in, let the dog out, let the dog in, let the dog out, let the dog in..." you get the picture. Her reply to my comment on that one was "Gotta find that other shirt, so I know what to do about the other dog". Her aging pets, both rescued critters, suffer with bad knees and lack of teeth, that somehow enhances their individual charms. Phoebe only had one tooth when she came to live with Ms Paw-lie. The vet had opted to leave that lone tooth so her tongue would not fall out of her mouth. The tiny chihuahua of mixed ancestry walks around now sans that tooth with her tongue hanging out one side of her mouth in search of worms. Her vision is impaired, her hearing gone, but sense of smell is doubly acute. She can smell our dog coming a block away and alerts the household of the coming visitor. The second little fellow is a pomeranian mixed with some other breed. His charcoal grey fur that shoots straight out in thick fluff all over his little body gives creedence to his moniker, Gizmo. He loves to come stomping out barking like an attack dog, he cannot run on his bad knees, only to bask in delight when we bend down to scratch his arching neck. Our labrador retriever plays tag with him in the front yard, and he is always sure he dominated the match. If for some reason the trio doesn't come out to meet us as we walk by, Belle loiters in the driveway, and is not above just having a seat to await them. She will bark loudly to attract their attention if she believes that her presence has not been properly noted. Oh yes, it is pretty clear who is in charge on this side of the mountain.