My old bullmastiff pal, Harvey, was a great talker. From a very early age we worked on building animal and human telepathy. Each of our three dogs at the time were excellent at mind communication, but since Harvey didn't know any better -- having started much younger than the other two -- he became a conversational pro! Months before he crossed the Rainbow Bridge we began a blog together. Before he passed I promised him I would continue to share the character of his words. The following light-hearted story is told from the perspective of a dog.
A terrible thing happened for dogs one Thanksgiving. It can certainly be a terrible thing when your people learn something new -- if you happen to be a dog. My people were being visited by the extended pack. Tree was talking with another people and I overheard the whole aweful story.
There once was a dog who went with her people to visit other people who happened to have a dog too. The dog in this story was very happy to visit the other dog. They ran together and had great fun with toys, but the other dog was much younger and stronger than the dog in our story so it sometimes made our dog very sad; She kept trying though, in the hopes that one day she'd be just as good at something as the younger dog.
Then one night, during the visit, a new thing happened. While getting ready for bed the other people patted the top of the bed -- and the other dog jumped up! Our dog in the story had never seen anything such as this before. Her people always slept alone way up on the bed. The dog in our story was never allowed on the bed. She wanted oh so very much to be just like the other dog! She ventured a little whine and offered her best cute puppy face to her people. To the surprise of the dog in our story her people patted the top of the bed too; She too was going to be allowed on the bed! SHE would finally be just like the other dog in our story! Her bottom side began to wiggle before her feet could even move. The dog in our story was so terribly excited as she jumped onto the bed! She wagged and wagged her tail in joy. She rolled on her side and wagged her tail in happiness. The dog in our story wagged and wagged her happy tail hard.
Suddenly the dog in our story let out a huge YELP! She jumped down to the safety of the floor. She tried to be happy again. She tried to wag her tail, but each effort made her yelp again in pain. Then the dog in our story tried NOT to wag her tail, but it wouldn't hold still, so she cried. Her people jumped out of the bed and rushed her to a doctor. Being very worried, they told the doctor what had happened. The doctor gave the dog in our story medicine to make her feel better and heal. In time, the dog in our story would be just fine. The the doctor then gave a good natured laugh. He explained that he'd never seen a dog get so happy that it wagged too hard; The dog in our story had sprained her tail!
My own people learned that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Thanksgiving turkey makes my tail wag because it's so good, but I won't wag too hard unless maybe they remember I'm thankful for leftovers!
-- written November 25, 2006 by Harvest "Harvey" the bullmastiff, with the help of his people Tree Pruitt.
*Please consider visiting the
American Bullmastiff Association Rescue to make a small donation or give a loving forever home to a darling in need! :)
copyright Tree Pruitt
