Dogs of Our Lives: Dogs Will be Dogs

Hallo, sweet Nashie!

You want to join me on the couch? Of course, you can, buddy! C'mon up.

Why yes, I am aware of those dog treats on the table.

And no, buddy, I haven't forgotten to give them to you. Would you like to have one or three? 

What is it you want to show me, Rosie?

You brought WHAT into the house??

Sweetie, branches, sticks, and the like have to stay outside. And how on earth did you get that branch through the doggie door??

Don't be sad. I put it outside for you and you can play with it there. But let's leave it outside, okay?

Oh, Tammo, really?

Out of all the big rocks in the border, you've decided the temple stone* best meets your needs?

Let me help you find another. The other rocks are just field stones Boompa dug out of the ground when the neighborhood was being built while the temple stone is, well... it's historic and from a place that was sacred. Use the field stones instead, okay?

Pepper. You know I love you and I know you love belly rubs. But to crawl under the table by my desk and ask for one under there?

Honey, I can't reach you very well under there. If you want one, you'll need to come out from under the table.

Aw, Pepper. I miss Nan, too.

But keeping vigil by her house with your favorite toy in the hopes that she will come out and play... I'm sorry, sweet girl. How about I play with you instead, okay?

* The temple stone is from the original  Nauvoo, Illinois Temple. Completed in 1846, in 1848 an arsonist set it on fire leaving only the walls standing, and in 1850 a tornado took down the remaining walls. Some of the rubble was used to build new buildings in the Nauvoo area, while the rest of it was collected into piles outside of town.

Years ago in the 1980s it was not uncommon to be allowed to have access to those piles of rubble. People would take bits of the temple home as souvenirs. In 2023, a friend of Craig's who had brought some larger temple stones back to Indiana in the trunk of his car gifted Craig with one that is from the belfry of the temple.

It's a pretty cool thing to have, right in our front yard. And Tammo sure thinks it's swell.