Me thinks that the long, dark winter has finally affected Doc’s brain. The other day I heard her talking to someone in the bathroom. Since none one else was home at the time I decided it best to investigate. Much to my surprise and dismay, not only was Doc talking to a stink bug that was sitting on the counter, but she was calling it Walter.

Hoping she didn’t notice the wide-eyed quizzical look on my face, I sat silently until I just could’t take it anymore and spoke up. ” Doc!….why on earth are you talking to a bug, and how do you know it’s name is Walter?”  Her response left me scratching my head because I would have never expected the answer she gave me. ” I am talking to a bug for the same reasons I talk to you and call you Grover, because it comforts me.” she said. ” But it’s a bug!” I protested. “You know they hitched a ride over to the US on a slow boat from the middle east and on top of that if you crush it, it smells like a dirty sock.”  I complained

” Are you done with your diatribe?” she asked. ” I nodded my furry head in response. Slowly  she sat down on the side of the tub, looked at me and explained that the bug just came in to get warm from the cold. “Instead of flushing it down the toilet like it didn’t matter, I decided to watch it and get to know Walter on a more personal level.”  she said. “Why just this morning I could’t find him and that little stinker was hiding behind the picture on the wall by the sink.”

Poor Doc, I am praying for an early spring. I think she just needs a good dose of sunshine to clear her head. But for now, I guess Doc, me and now Walter will hunker down until warmer days arrive and Walter can go back outside.

Doc and I could hear the sirens off in the distance, but never imagined they were responding to such a terrible tragedy. Just after 12pm on a cold rainy Saturday, two police officers in our quiet suburb were gunned down after responding to a 911 hang up call.

The grief that our city is experiencing is palatable. You can see it represented in all the blue ribbons tied to trees and light posts and the street signs honoring the fallen on the front of businesses. In the evening when Doc and I drive through the city, the neighborhoods are awash in a hazy blue glow from all the people who have placed blue bulbs in porch lights to honor those that died. It is a small reminder to all our first responders that they are appreciated and are not alone.

The feelings that rise up after a tragedy like this occurs are many.  After the initial shock and disbelief, the sadness and anger set in. Doc is just as confused by all of the violence as I am and since this shooting occurred in our town, 17 more people have been killed in a high school in Florida.

I watch the news along with Doc and I here the arguing on both sides of the issue, but no resolution ever occurs. I think it would be nice if humans could let go of politics and their emotions for once, look at the facts and come up with a solution to stop this from happening in the future.

Maybe I am just a dog, but I know that children shouldn’t be afraid to go to school and people shouldn’t be scared that someone will shoot them just because they chose to go to the movies one night.

For now I will go pay my respects by trying to help the police and the community heal the best way I know how. May Officers Joering and Morelli rest in peace and hopefully this tragedy will lead to change so that no other person or family member has to suffer from one more act of violence.

Photo by Angela Kirk

You just don’t know what you are going to encounter on any given day in this world. It’s what makes life both interesting and scary. On one of my daily walks with Doc, just such an encounter happened and it not only caught me off guard but had me wondering what kind of creatures they were letting into the neighborhood.

Doc didn’t even pay attention to the green thing sitting in the yard until I came to a halt and started growling at it. ” What is wrong with you?” Doc asked, and then she followed my gaze to that green thing wearing a Santa hat and holding a present. Much to my embarrassment she started to chuckle. ” That’s a fake dinosaur” she said, a left-over Christmas decoration.”

I really don’t care what Doc says, I left a wide berth when we walked by it. She knows I don’t like change or anything that looks different, it scares me. “There should be laws about what kind of holiday decorations people can have in their yards I told her, and I should have the final vote”. ” Oh really!” she exclaimed.  ” Grover, if you go through life only being around things, dogs or humans that you feel comfortable with, you are going to miss out on a lot. It’s usually never as scary as you have conjured up in your mind anyway.”

And with that she turned me around and took me back to the yard to have a close encounter with that yard ornament. I didn’t want to say she forced me but she did. I took one sniff and realized that she was right and it wasn’t even real.  ” You see, nothing to be afraid of.” “Now let’s go home and get out of the cold.” she said.

I hate to admit it, but Doc knows what she’s doing when it comes to me. If I continue to investigate and confront what I’m uneasy with, no telling where life will take me.

Even though I am a dog, I am still interested in American Politics. I wouldn’t exactly call myself political, more like an observer of pack behavior. Given all the squabbling among the politicians in the congress and the senate, I thought you might be interested in hearing about a new and refreshing type of leadership.

In the tiny town of Dorset, Minnesota they elect a new mayor every two years by picking a name out of a hat. Well a few years ago the winner was a three-year old named Robert Tufts. He does admit to going around and coercing the towns people into writing his name down on the pieces of paper that went in the hat. (They can vote as many times as they like for $1 per vote). Some people would call that stuffing the ballot box, but I view it as 3-year-old ingenuity.

Robert can be seen around town talking to the towns people, giving bait advice to the local fisherman and schmoozing with his friends at day care. But what got my attention about young Robert is the political  slogan that he lives by; “Being nice and no poopy talk.” If you ask me, Robert is wise beyond his years. Can you imagine if all of our politicians adopted these words of wisdom and lived by them?

I don’t need to tell you that this dog is impressed and If they would let canines vote he would definitely get mine. Bravo Robert Tufts!