I don't think Smudgie gets how lucky he is!

Mommy was working really hard today, doing that housecleaning/purging thing she's been doing all summer. Daddy was "helping." He did some good stuff, I'm sure, but he also complained a lot about how she shouldn't throw things out. I guess he's going to build an addition to house all the stuff then?

I had to laugh. They did all this "shredding" and in the process they burned out the shredder. Mommy said that the shredder could go in the garbage then. Daddy got all mad and said that they should keep it.

What exactly is a broken shredder good for anyway? I don't get it.

But that's really not the point of my post.

In the middle of all this work, they took a break and let me and Smudgie out for a pee. Mommy said that I should go look at the riverboat going past our backyard, but I was more interested in the squirrel on the fence so I kinda missed it. Oh well.

So I went for a romp to Poo Corner and checked things out, and Smudgie peed as close to the deck as is caninely possible so that Mommy couldn't actually be mad. She laughed at him of course, and thought it was neat that he was, technically, following the "NO PEEING ON THE DECK" rule.

But then he wandered off into the wilder, grassy, untamed areas of the general "going out to pee or poo" area. I don't understand exactly why he pees in deck adjacent fashion every single time and then goes out to forage in the area Mommy wants us to use for peeing. Silly Smudgie.

Anyway, after a few minutes we both came in and I wanted to play, but Smudgie was biting at his front footie.

Mommy noticed right away and came over to help him. She figured something was poking his toes, or stuck in his pad, or something like that.

Hudson immediately assumed that she had come to torture, kill, or maim him (as if anyone has ever done anything like that to a sheepdog in this house!) and he ran away.

She chased him and he hid under the table and then he dove around the table and ran for the safety of the upstairs, but she cut him off at the computer room door, and managed to grab his dollar.

He squirmed and tried to get free. He tried to back out of his collar. He started making gagging sounds but Mommy wouldn't let go. With her other hand she reached for his footie, but he pulled it away. She made him sit, and then lay down. He was shaking and carrying on.

She held his footie firmly (but gently, I could tell). He continued to try to pull it away, but she wouldn't let him go. I believe she called him a '"doofus" and a "drama queen." I think both were fair quite frankly.

She took her hand off his collar, and used that one to take a large burr out from between his toes. She laughed and said, "It wasn't even really stuck you silly dog. What was all THAT about?"

Smudgie did give her a thank you kiss, but as soon as she released his footie he quickly backed away and escaped, keeping a safe distance.

Doesn't he get how lucky he is?

He has a Mommy (and Daddy) who love him enough to put up with all his nonsense, ignore his horrid behaviour, and take good care of him. I mean seriously, how lucky is he to have a family that will chase him through the house to take a burr out from between his toes that is only causing him discomfort in the first place?

Maybe Smudgie just doesn't get it because he's always had a family, but I sure get it. A family loves you and takes care of you, even when you're cranky. And I know what it's like to NOT have a family, so I really know what I am talking about.

So, on behalf of Smudgie I'D like to say an official thank you to Mommy. I appreciate my family so very much and I know how lucky I am, even if Smudgie doesn't get it.

Take care all, and remember to love your families. Not everyone is lucky enough to have one.

Rudy, Grateful Family Man