More what were they thinking?

I went down to Florida for Thanksgiving. My mother, a brother and a sister live down there. I drove down Tuesday with my 2 dogs, and this started my, “what was I thinking?” moments.

First- I drove ten hours in a car with my 2 dogs. What was I thinking? Allie doesn’t settle down when we travel. She stays in an excited state for days. She will not sleep much. And, she will annoy the heck out of you by not letting you sleep (I guess she feels if she can’t sleep, why should you?). I was lucky to get a nap by sleeping on the couch with the TV on (I guess it makes her feel more at home, considering I often nap with the TV on. (Remember, I’ve said more than once “I’m a big fat lazy guy”.)).

Second- I put all the dogs in the backyard while I took a shower. What was I thinking? I forgot Allie is the big brown Houdini of the dog world. I guess because she is older and can’t climb fences anymore; I thought she would be fine in the backyard. Boy was I wrong. She found a hole in the fence, and pushed under the fence. When I went to let the dogs in, three came in and Allie was missing. I rushed out front to call for her and found her standing in the middle of the road. She was looking around as if thinking, (“None of these houses look right; where the hell am I? Damn this Conway memory”).

Third- My brother-in-law and I took both of my dogs for a hike at the Savannah’s State Park. What was I thinking? Allie is old; although the mind is willing, the body isn’t. We had gone a mile and a half when we realized that if we didn’t turn around, one of us would probably be carrying a 90lb Chocolate Lab. Our total hike was two and a quarter miles and Allie panted for 3 hours after the hike was over.

After the hike I took the dogs over to my mother’s condo. While over there the dogs found that big cold water bowl located in the bathroom. This will often freak out non-dog people, like my mom. When they came out of the bathroom, my mother made it a point to try and shoo them away from her. I found this very amusing, because non-dog people don’t understand that when you talk to the dog and wave your hands at them; they think you want them in your lap, and if you want them in your lap, you must want big sloppy kisses (and they would be sloppy, because the just finished drinking from that big cold water bowl located in the bathroom). It was fun to watch.

Fourth- On the way home, I gave Allie a doggie sedative for the trip. What was I thinking? The sedative relaxed her too much. She didn’t ride standing on the console the whole trip, but for part of the trip, every time she wanted to reposition herself she would bark (LOUDLY), because she was having trouble getting up. If you’ve never experienced a Lab bark when you didn’t expect it, you are lucky. I am lucky I didn’t have a heart attack or hit another car from being startled. (Although, she always barked after I had settled down. She might have been doing it just to mess with me.)