ask grandma j

For The Love Of Dogs....all dogs, mostly


I'm a dog lover. I haven't always considered myself one, mainly because I never really took the time to devote much time to any of the dogs I've known until I was almost fortyish. Oh sure, we had a dog or two growing up. Mostly I remember the maintenance part of having a dog. Feed the dog. Let the dog out. Let the dog in. Pick up the dog poop....what? We played with the dog, and he ate my vegetables for me, but mostly not much bonding stuff going on.....not really.

If I had taken the time to smell the roses....you know, make an effort to find out if dogs were all they were cracked up to be. If only I had taken the time to gaze into a pair of eyes that made your heart melt......like these.

Ok, so thats not a real dog...but he's cute, and he has "love me" written all over his face.

Just so you don't think I'm nuts, I don't go gaga over all dogs. I'm not really crazy about the pure bred, cropped tailed, bandaged eared, nip and tuck kind of pedigree dog. I mean, to me a short little nub of a tail doesn't really wag! I don't watch professional dog shows, but I will watch the funniest dog videos, and all the silly shows where the dogs sing and play the harmonica. Those I love.

But then the world is tipped up on it's flat side when this guy wins the Westminster Dog Show. Yep, Uno, a friggin Beagle...for the first time. And it's about time!


The world went crazy! All the poodle lovers cried. I mean Uno is cute, adorable and smart but are beagles considered aristocrats? Are they? Everyone loves their floppy ears and wagging tails. The go nutso with their baying...or is it a howl? Anyway I thought they were cute and cuddly. So now Uno is a total celebrity .....he has been on every talk show except the View. He even went to Camp Snoopy at Knott's Berry Farm in SoCA to meet Snoopy. Snoopy is a beagle too.

I remember when Knott's Berry Farm was free...and cute boys hung out there.


.....And this guy got jealous because he has never been invited to Camp Snoopy. Instead, he pines over Lady. Sure, like she would really dump Tramp for Pluto!So at the age of 38, I get this guy.......he was a gift and just a baby. He was almost untrainable because I didn't know how....but we muddled through, and became best friends. His name was Charlie, and he lived to be almost eighteen. He loved me...and I loved him. He was gentle and wouldn't hurt a fly...but if he thought you were hurting me then too bad for you! He taught me how to understand and appreciate dogs.

Then I noticed other dogs that were wonderful. They weren't mine...but they were my friends just the same. This is Maggie and she is one hot Lab!

Even when I take my granddaughter to a friend's son's birthday party the dog becomes our main attraction. This granddaughter not only looks like me, she loves dogs and pedicures too.


In April of last year, I move to Texas. You didn't know that? I mean really, I may have mentioned it a time or ten! I can't wait to spend time with the Texas grandkids. They told me they had a new dog but blah, blah, blah.....so what!

Meet JJ......I saw that face and I swear I heard him say "are you my grandma?"
JJ was only about six months old. About three days after I arrived in Texas JJ jumped in the air and came down wrong. He limped, and whimpered and I got scared. We headed off to the vet. Since I wasn't his owner we had to turn the town up on it's end to get him taken care of. Some of his records were with the previous owner, and some where at a different vet's office.

I spent ten months living with JJ and his family. I held his hand when he got neutered.....well, not physically...but in spirit. We went for rides in the car almost daily. We shopped at PetSmart and Walmart. We napped together and checked the mail together.

The one thing I avoided was letting JJ sleep with me. Afterall, he had a mom, dad, sister and brother who loved him...and he loved them. He has his own bed and over a period of time he started sleeping with his sister on a regular basis. When the family left for work and school in the morning, JJ would scratch at my bedroom door, and I would let him in and we would cuddle until I got up.

I visit JJ about once a week. We roll around and bite each others tails...well, he thinks my hand is a tail sort of. We go for a ride in the car and then it's "hasta", until the next time.

Today, I went over to see JJ. This is how it usually goes.......

................and neither can I. Then we do this! JJ rides shotgun and loves "chasing all the bad guys away". We go shopping and he gets a new toy. I take him back home, and say "hasta" again.

I think about how much he reminds me of this old guy.

I get back to my apartment....really glad that I don't have the upkeep of a pet, but I still have JJ to visit and play with whenever I want.

I walk up to the mailbox and glance over at the swimming pool.......

Could this be one of my neighbor's cats?