The Barking Dreams

Molly has dreams like no other dog I have ever had before. She has these vivid dreams where she growls, barks, and chases things in her sleep and occasionally wags her tail when she dreams of a friendly face.

I finally caught one of her barking dreams on my digital camera yesterday and I showed it to a few of my friends at work and they loved it. Its to bad it had to come without sound. Molly is laying on the bed all stretched out and everytime she barked her whole pot belly would shake. Her front feet would twitch and her back feet would run and she was having a great time. It must have been the thrill of the chase.

I did a little bit of research on dog dreams and it seems to be a consensus that they dream about things they would do in real life. Molly loves chasing rabbits and squirrels and i hope she manages to catch them in her dreams. She is probably not tethered by a leash in her dreams and can run freely across the grass and into the woods. I wonder if I am in her dreams with her?

The Shedding Season

Molly sheds like no other dog I have ever had before. It lasts all summer long and halfway into the winter. If its above 40 degrees outside, she sheds. You can pat her on the back and literally watch the fur fly. Its these fine white hairs too, the kind that stick to everything.

Molly's shedding started getting bad about a week ago so today I thought I would try to help her out some by pulling out her rake when we went outside and give her a good brushing.

Her and I both ended up thinking that was a bad idea. When I came at her for about the fifth time, she started getting quite a bit pissy about it. Clump after clump of white and soft brown hair came out. I don't even think it qualifies as fur. When I was thru with her, it looked like she had exploded all over the back yard.

The brushing only made her shedding worse instead of better. Alot of the hair had worked its way loose and clung to her body. She ended up looking like she had an afro and was an extra on Soul Train. If we could only work on her dance moves....

Molly The Watch Dog

Molly is really slipping as a watch dog. Last night the security light aimed at my driveway kept coming on meaning something outside had to be triggering it whether it was a wild animal or a human passing thru.

I look over at Molly laying in the floor beside the bed and she's not moving so I figure it must not be anything. It comes on a couple of more times and my curiosity is up. I thought I heard something in the driveway and I start to intently listen. I definitely heard something inside the house by this time and it was my trusty canine companion and bodyguard snoring so loud it drowned any other noise. If there was an intruder outside I was hoping that they would think Molly was growling at them because Sleeping Beauty sure as hell wasn't going to wake up. I bet they would have hell to pay if they tried stealing her dog treats.

It Doesn't Feel Like Rain

I have to tell an embarrassing story about Molly. I love taking Molly for walks in the woods especially early in the morning. The light is just beginning to peak thru the branches of the trees, the wildlife is beginning to stir, and it is nice and cool and fresh.

Yesterday morning we were making our morning circuit thru the woods when I had to pee. I am an old country boy at heart and I found myself a big Oak tree to shield myself from the view of any neighbor that could possibly see me. Molly is sniffing around and hot on the trail of something and when she is focused on a scent like that, she is oblivious to everything else going on around her. I started to pee and I really wasn't paying much attention to what she was doing and the next thing I know, she walked right into the line of fire before I realized it. I peed all over the top of this dogs head before I could stop myself.

The look this dog gave me was priceless and I couldn't stop laughing for about 15 minutes. The funny thing was is that she was so focused on whatever scent she was following, she didn't even realize I had peed on her until I started laughing.

They say paybacks are rough and Molly exacted her revenge on me this afternoon by dragging me through a briar patch while she was on her way to taking her afternoon constitutional. I got a little bit scratched up but I didn't find it as funny as she did, either. All I did was pee on her head.

A Milestone

At some point and time yesterday, my Molly's World blog reached a milestone of sorts. My Molly's World blog had its 500th pageview. That is not a drop in the bucket compared to the more popular blogs out there but Molly and I have to celebrate the small things in life. It is also getting alot more pageviews than all of my sports blogs put together but I have not really put those out there like I have Molly's World.

According to the statistics given on my blog homepage, I have readers all over the world. Russia, China, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Belarus are a few of the countries other than the United States that are listed. I don't know if these people were just passing thru or if they can even read English, but it still counts on the stat sheet.

Molly's World started out about alot of different things but it came down to a man and his dog and Molly thinks thats the way it should have been all along. A friend of mine tried explaining to me yesterday about how the Harry Potter series is a microcosm of life but it can't get any more microcosmic than a man and his dog.

Leash Laws

Alot of places have leash laws now. A dog owner is required to have his dog on a leash especially if you are out in public with them. I have always put Molly on a leash no matter where we were at. I want to be in total control of her actions and I don't want her to be accused of any wrong doing. Me and my father had more disagreements about my dogs being on a leash than we did anything else.

I heard my neighbors Boxer, Honey, got into some kind of trouble, the cops were called, and now if she is outside the house she has to be on a leash. I think she tried taking a nip out of one of the neighborhood kids. If that docile, mild-mannered dog tried biting anybody, its because they probably deserved it. Some people just need a chunk taken out of their ass once in a while. If its the people that live up the street, they probably overreacted, and Honey should have taken a piece of their ass as well.

Molly Loves Her Sleeping Bag

Last night I knew it was going to be cold (it was 62 degrees inside the house when i got home from work at 4:30) so I pulled a sleeping bag out of the closet. It was my way of giving Mother Nature the finger for it being so cold this late in the Spring because I refuse to turn the heat back on.

I pulled the red sleeping bag out of the closet and that has always been Molly's favorite thing to lay on. I started that tradition when I lived in Gastonia except last night, I fully intended to sleep in it. Molly intended something completely different.

As soon as I stretched it out on the the bed, Molly hopped up on the bed and staked her claim to it. She quickly curled up on it and I knew I wasn't getting it back. I decided to dress up in sweat pants and a sweatshirt and I knew that was going to have to do. Last night was one of the very rare occasions in which Molly spent the whole night laying on the bed but she wasn't about to give up that sleeping bag.

A Little Bit Frisky

I don't know what it is but the cooler weather makes Molly a little bit frisky. It is down right chilly here in the western North Carolina mountains for the middle of May, overcast skies, cool wind in the air, temperature in the low 50's, and it feels like October or November. I may even have to turn the heat back on.

I came home this afternoon and Molly was ready to go. It didn't matter where, Molly was just ready to go. We went outside and did our lap around the neighborhood and Molly was still full of energy when I brought her back in the house. She was running at me and barking, she brought me all of her "tug-of-war" and "fetch" toys, and we had to go outside two or three more times so she could expend all of her energy. She wanted neck scratches and belly rubs and she just demanded attention. I wish it was that easy for me. I, however, am not Molly.

Happy To See Me

Today was my first day back at work after 8 1/2 weeks off for surgery and Molly and I both had some adjustments to make. Our morning schedule was moved up by two hours- me getting ready for work and Molly's bathroom schedule. We both managed the first morning without any problems and I was proud of both of us. It was like we had never missed a beat.

The daytime schedule was a little more difficult. It involved me being gone for 10 hours and Molly in the bedroom by herself for that length of time. A few bumps in the road for me but I made it home safely and Molly was waiting for me with open paws.

I always know she is happy to see me. I hear the "woofs" coming from the bedroom as soon as I unlock the front door and whenever I open the bedroom door, it is an explosion of joy. She runs out, high-fiving my hand with her nose on her way to the front door, and she cannot wait to get out the door. As soon as that leash is strapped on and I open the door, she is down the steps as fast as she can go.

The smells of the day hit her full force and she makes sure she takes them all in. Molly redefines stop and smell the roses. We have about a three or four yard radius that we cover and we make a circuit thru the woods as well to see what wildlife has stopped by throughout the day. We try to be at one with nature during this time and it is my favorite time of day. I am so damn lucky that Molly allows me to smell the roses with her.

Keeping Molly's Spot Warm

I can now add "bed warmer' to the job functions I perform for Molly. This morning I got up to go to the bathroom and in the two minutes I was gone, she had taken my spot in the bed just like I had been saving it for her. Then when I started to get back in the bed, she looked at me like "I know you don't expect me to move!" and she didn't.

Instead of laying longways in the bed, she will lay sideways and really stretch out so she can have the whole bed to herself or so she thinks. When I do make her move, she growls every step of the way and voices her displeasure at being disturbed. I am always losing track of who is supposed to be the "master" but I am pretty sure it is not me.

Molly The Therapist

While I was recuperating from foot surgery and being held "prisoner" in my house for 8 1/2 weeks by piss poor short-term disability payments (I couldn't afford to go anywhere), I had to turn to Molly to be my Therapist. She was all my health insurance would pay for.

Molly is a great listener. I talked to her more than I did anybody. When I am talking to her, she arches her eyebrows, and her ears stand at attention, and her eyes get that understanding look that you can only get when she feels what I am telling her. She hangs on my every word no matter how mundane or trivial it is.

Mollys prescription for my mental health was long, stress-reducing walks around the neighborhood and thru the woods (of course we had to throw in a rabbit chase for her once in a while), and relaxing, rejuvenating naps in the afternoon to recharge our batteries. Molly also suggested I quit my job but I can't quite go that far yet. She enjoys her morning dog treats too much for me to take that drastic step.

Although I am not completely cured, Molly feels I am ready to go back to work even though I believe she will miss the time we spent together. I will miss it as well.

The Dinner Bell

The Microwave starting up must be like the dinner bell for Molly. Opening the refrigerator door is almost as good but nothing sets her feet to moving like the microwave whirring into action. As soon as I hit the "Start" button, it sets off a one dog, canine stampede and I don't care what kind of deep sleep she is in.

She knows she may be hand fed a few leftovers and at the very least get to lick the plate (who needs a dishwasher?) but she knows some victuals is probably headed her way.

I guess it would be considered a Pavlovian response to the microwave but if Molly could operate it herself, she wouldn't need me.

The Art Of The Belly Rub

I read somewhere that when a dog flips over on its back and shows you its belly for a rub, its the ultimate sign that a dog trusts you and is offering up its vulnerability.

Molly enjoys a good belly rub but she offers her belly up for very few people. I have to give her at least one or two a day and she tells me when I can quit. She also likes me to rub right under her chin and her chest. When I start rubbing under her chin, she will cross her paws over my arms to make sure I hit the right spots. She lets out these contented grunts that almost makes her sound like a pig.

Molly always used to wait on my wife to get out of the shower in the morning. She would lay right in front of the bathroom door and she would not let her get through the bathroom door without giving her a belly rub. That quickly became part of her morning routine. Whenever Molly sees my wife now, she demands that belly rub.

The Straightest Distance Between Two Points

Molly has always been a firm believer in the mathematical principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. That straight line is usually between my legs as I am trying to walk but I have kind of gotten used to it by now.

It was much worse when I lived in Gastonia and I had to navigate a flight of steps in my apartment every day trying to get her out of the apartment. I would be trying to put a leash on her and get her down the steps and I would be about halfway down the steps when she would shoot between my legs.
I took a few tumbles down the steps because of Molly but I wouldn't replace that doggy enthusiasm for the world.

She gets so excited over the simplest things. When I get home in the afternoon and pick up the leash she starts jumping and twirling and letting out these contented "wwwoof! wwwoof!". All because she gets to go outside.

I wish I felt that sort of enthusiasm. About anything. Maybe I should start jumping up and down and doing the Molly dance the next time I get to take her outside. Molly could teach me alot about life if I would just listen to her.