A Dog's Place

A Dog’s Place

Buster slept near the front door, his chosen space. Manny slept in the recliner, his chosen space.

This was the routine for many years. Each found the routine comforting, each knew where the other slept.

Until one night. Buster ended up in the recliner. For some reason, the dog felt that this was now his chosen place to sleep. There was no triggering factor. No reason, just dog-sense.

“Hey, dog, get out of my chair.” Manny stated, quite nicely to his dog.

Buster didn’t take kindly to being called ‘dog’. In his dog brain, he felt that his master should use the proper term. And that proper term was ‘Buster’. So Buster ignored the request. In fact, Buster rose, turned three times, and lay back down in the recliner.

Manny was now in a quandary. He had a bag of chips under his arm, a bowl of dip in one hand, and a glass of soda in the other hand. The usual routine was to slide into the recliner in one smooth move, then the snacks would fall into his lap. It worked every time. What could he do now? The couch was full of laundry for Jeanine to fold, the chair was full of Nancy on her phone.

“Dog, get. Out. Of. MY. Chair.” Manny repeated the request, this time slowly, just in case Buster for some reason had turned deaf overnight.

Buster still ignored the request. He dreamt of squirrels, rabbits, chasing things. He snored.

“Okay, fine. I’ve tried being Mr. Nice Guy. But NO, you have to just lie there like a lump on a log. So FINE.”

Manny leaned down, bit Buster on one hind foot that stuck out.

“Yelp! Bark! Whoop!”

Buster leaped from the recliner. He knocked Manny down. Manny now had dip and soda all over himself, the recliner, the floor, the couch, and Nancy.

“Hey! What the he..? You ruined my new phone! MOM!”

Buster ran circles around the room, still traumatized that Manny would be so rude as to bite him.

Manny laid on the floor, trying to figure out the best way to get off the floor…

Nancy stood in the middle of the room, screeching about her phone dying.

“What in the world is going on in here? I leave you guys alone for a few moments and World War III happens! Who did what to who?” Jeanine stood in the doorway and surveyed the damage.

Manny and Nancy started to talk. Buster slinked over to Jeanine, head bowed.

“Never mind, I don’t even want to know. Get those towels off the couch, both of you. Clean up that mess. Come on, Buster. Let’s take a walk.”

When they returned, the living room was clean. Nancy sat in the chair, now on a different phone. Manny sat in the recliner with his snacks refilled.

Buster stood in the middle of the living room. Jeanine took off the leash. She spoke to Buster calmly and politely.

“Now Buster, your place is in front of the door. You do not go to the chair.”

Buster now understood that dogs have their place in the world of men. He liked his world with his man. He would stay in his dog place in front of the door.

W/C 545