4.24.13

Jedi Dog Art Magnet by Brian Rubenacker

Yes, I believe OUR little dog would make a GREAT Jedi Master. The artwork is by Brian Rubenacker. Click HERE to see some of his work. He does interesting dog-centric, poster style statements. Brian uses a color palette that appeals to me and reminds me of lithographic work of the early 20th century, though the subject matter decidedly shows his quirky sense of humor.

Many of you know about our wonderful dachshund, Lily. Sunday marks her seventh birthday. She has always been an unusually smart (manipulative?) dog. When she was very young, she learned to ring a bell when she wanted to "go outside". From then on, she would  ring the bell every time she wanted to be out whether to play OR do her business. She would ring the bell at the front door and then dash for the back door which led to her play yard. We had to put in a second bell just for the play yard. That did NOT keep her from ringing the bell for attention and then once outside, making a "fake pee" in order to receive a treat. She still does that.

She  knew her treats were behind a particularly heavy, spring-latched cabinet door in the kitchen. If we were all busy, sometimes we would hear (nudge) BAM BAm-bam-bam. If anyone came out to the kitchen to see what the noise was about, there she sat, waiting for a treat.

I taught her to "whisper" bark one tiny little bark to gently wake up her Grand-dad (my husband). She learned that trick so quickly I was amazed

We had a Family Thanksgiving Dinner one year. She whined all through the meal so HomeSon trained her to go to her bed whenever anyone had food. MOST of the time now, when someone fixes food, after she "vacuums" the kitchen floor, she dashes for her bed. If she doesn't, HomeSon reminds her and she GRUMBLES like back talk!

After her Grand-dad and I retired,  she settled into a routine quite nicely. She rings the bell at 6:00 every night and will bark if ignored because she expects someone to be making dinner and nothing else will please her. At 9:45 in the evening, she makes one quiet little RAF to remind me that it is time for her dental health treat. If I don't respond, she will ring the bell.

On second thought, maybe Lily should NOT be permitted Jedi training. She seems to be doing pretty well without it. I worry to think what changes would come over our household.  To paraphrase the Obi Wan character, "These are the treats you are looking for."