When I got up that morning, it didn’t feel so special. On the other hand, it didn’t seem like a particularly bad Friday, and I knew Friday the 13th was still a whole week away. But I failed to see anything particularly good about it, either. My breakfast and morning walk were uneventful. Heather had to go to work early, so I had to get by with a morning walk with Mike, who in the morning is always in a big rush to get back home and eat his Cheerios. Later, though, after Mike had finished his cereal and a couple of cups of coffee, my day started getting better. How? Let me count the ways:
Kongs hold more!
- Mike gave me a rubber Kong overstuffed with peanut butter, fruit and yogurt, not one of those lower-calorie stuffed marrow bones. Those are OK, but let’s face it: Kong rules.
- Perhaps guilty from short-changing me on the morning walk, Mike took me on a extra-long afternoon walk and played lots of fetch along the way as he listened to the Seattle Mariners’ pregame show on the radio. No doubt inspired by the advent of a new baseball season, I made several excellent catches and throws of my purple-and-white ball, earning extra praise and treats from Mike. But we were barely getting warmed up on “goodness.”
Chloë’s favorite delivery service.
- When we were coming back down our street, I spied none other than my favorite UPS driver pulling up to the Bartons’ house down the block. I yanked Mike all the way down there, and not only did my #1 guy throw me one of his trademark large biscuits, but he also said that he had a package for us, too! And when he handed it to Mike, he slipped me another of the biscuits that he keeps inside that huge brown truck of his. If I could only get in!
- And wait, there’s more: That UPS package was for me! It was from the company that makes Visi-Ball, and inside were two brand-new Visi-Balls in their spiffy new packaging. I wonder if I’ll get to chase both of them at the same time. To be continued.
Chloë’s new Visi-Balls arrive.
- Almost tuckered out by all of the afternoon activities and surprises, I might have appeared a bit slow on my feet when Heather came home and wanted to play some tug of war with me. Next thing I know, she’s pulled the new toy box out of the hall closet, and she’s urging me to stick my head in and pull out any new toy I like! Yikes! All I could do was wonder what it was that made this night different from all other nights.
Tiger
Rather than dwell on it, however, I chose a squeaking tug toy that seemed to be a cross between a leopard, a koala bear and a cheetah. So far I’m calling him Tiger and paying a lot of attention to him, carrying him around and tossing him at Heather’s feet when I want to see Tiger hurled across the room. We’ll see how long he lasts in my favor after he hits the big pillow in the living room with Wiffie, Foxy, Sharkie, Squeaky and the rest of my crew.
All in all, I’d have to call this a great Good Friday, my best one ever, and pretty damn good for any other day of the week.
Diary of a Wiener Dog 