This story first appeared in the August 12, 2010, issue of The Trussville Tribune…
I love my dogs. I really do. I love their sweet little Chihuahua faces and funny ears. I love how they cuddle under a blanket at my feet on a cold evening. I love the enthusiastic greeting I receive whenever I return home, whether I’ve been gone for minutes or days. And I love the way they can be bribed to sit, stay or come with the simple offer of a cheese treat. If only husbands, bosses, and waiters in Mexican restaurants who don’t keep tea glasses full and forget to bring extra salsa were so easy to control.
But we have a bit of a situation here: The inmates have taken over the asylum. It’s no longer a case of Jimmie and me letting Shug and Dobbie live in our house. They’re letting us live in theirs. They’re also letting us sleep in their bed, sit in their recliner, mop their floors and mow their lawn, i.e., bathroom. In return, we finance their food, shelter and medical care. What’s wrong with this picture?
The ungrateful mongrels have not only assumed ownership of the house, they’ve also learned to manage the live-in human help without uttering a word. An intent stare broken by intermittent glances toward the door means, “You’d better let me out right now, or you’ll be mopping that floor again.” An upright stance achieved by propping front paws on the couch and a clipped bark means, “Move over. You’re in my spot.” A pitiful head-hanging gaze at the food bowl means, “If I don’t get something to eat pretty soon, I just might starve to death, and it’ll be all your fault.”
And there’s no question when bedtime rolls around. The pups apparently fear turning into pumpkins after 10 p.m., so at 9:55 most nights, they’re sitting at the head of the bed (yes, the same bed we used to consider ours alone), waiting for one of us servants to come turn the covers down. It doesn’t matter that the servants still have the kitchen to clean or ironing to do; the furry little princes are weary from all the lounging around they do all day while their humans are out working to support them in the style to which they’ve become accustomed.
It all happened so gradually that Jimmie and I failed to notice what was going on until the takeover had occurred, and now it’s gotten out of hand. As non-parents who, in the past, have ridiculed the parenting skills of people who let their spoiled, unruly children get the best of them, we’re now feeling somewhat abashed. We’ve been outwitted by a couple of Chihuahuas.
But we might have a strategy: We’re thinking about getting a cat. We’ve seen how it flusters Shug and Dobbie when they try to intimidate the neighbor’s cat, Layla, and she strikes back by swiping one or both of them across the nose. The dogs respond by yelping as if she were killing them then hightailing it to the front porch. So a cat could very well be our most effective weapon in this war.
The only problem is, Jimmie doesn’t particularly like cats, and I’m allergic to them, so we’ve still got a few kinks to work out of the plan. But we’ll figure something out. The takeover took a few years to occur, and we realize that regaining control is liable to take a while, too.
In the meantime, if you see me down at the Winn-Dixie on the pet food aisle at 1 a.m. looking for cheese-flavored dog snacks, you’ll know who sent me. Of course, that would probably mean you were sent there, too, which would also mean you’re as well trained as I am. And in that case, we may as well give it up and admit the obvious: It truly is a dog’s world, after all.