RUFUS’S DAY WITH JESSE

Yesterday Jesse came to spend the day with me and today I am depressed. Jesse and I have so much fun together.

First, Y’Mommy tells me that Jesse is coming to see me, so I jump to my lookout on the back of the sofa to watch for her. Then the phone rings and I just know it’s something important!! And I am right!! It is Laurie, Jesse’s mommy, saying she is on the way and will be here shortly. This time I run to the door to wait, and soon I am rewarded for my vigil.

The first thing I do when she arrives is to jump all over her because I am so excited to see her. Then I grab her bear which Laurie has brought and run away with it. Of course, she runs after me and we chase around the house --- through the kitchen, down the hall into the living room, then around the dining room table and back into the kitchen. This usually keeps up for about ten minutes. Then Jesse grabs one of my toys and we do it all over again, but I’m doing the chasing. We keep this running around game going for thirty –forty minutes with both of us going lickety-split all over the house, even upstairs. Then Y’Mommy brings out my bed from my “place” in the laundry room and Jesse and I rest in our beds for a while. My bed is blue, Jesse’s is green, but Y’Mommy says she is going to buy us one big one so we can sleep together, and then Laurie won’t have to continue to bring her bed each time.

After relaxing, I begin to get restless, so Y’Mommy takes us out for a walk. Each of us has our own leash, which Y’Mommy holds in each hand. We love to run in and out so that the leashes get tangled up, but Y’Mommy is getting pretty adept at keeping them separate. (It’s amazing how agile she is for her age.) All throughout the walk Jesse and I play a game to see who can leave the last spot. Kinda like gotcha last. First I pee, then she does on top of it and then I go back and cover it up. Or Jesse covers mine up, then I go, etc. etc. Y’Mommy usually pulls us on if we stop too long, so nobody wins.

Jesse has the strangest way of relieving herself that I’ve ever seen. She balances on her front feet, sticks both back feet in the air and squirts. She may take a few steps while the process is going on, making it difficult to nail down the exact spot I have to cover up, and if I’m not careful, I might be in the line of fire. I must say she looks like a circus dog while performing this maneuver.

While we are out on our walk, we stop at the wooden fence to see Charlie. We sniff noses through the widest crack, and then I introduce him to Jesse. Charlie is very taken with her and begins howling his beagle howl. It’s really very annoying to me and I start barking and running back and forth. Y’Mommy doesn’t let this go on very long, and we head back home.

After lunch Y’Mommy thinks we are ready for a nap, but she is in for a surprise. We get on the bed with her and proceed to romp and play --- we wrestle, roll around, and jump back and forth, never leaving the bed. Just as she is about to give up, we settle down and sleep for a little while, so she does get a little rest, after all.

All too soon Laurie came to get Jesse and I was again an “only dog.” I was very lonely after she left, but also tired. I hope she comes back soon.