Photo by Angela Kirk

Since Doc and I have been staying inside most of the time due to the inclement weather she has developed an annoying habit. Instead of paying attention to me, she has been spending the evenings yacking on the phone with friends and it is starting to get on my last nerve.

Just last night we were in the middle of playing with a tennis ball I happened to “borrow” from the next door neighbors yard when her phone rang and she abruptly stopped our game to answer it.  How rude! She even puts the call on speaker phone like I care about anything humans discuss. It’s usually the same boring conversations. They either talk about the weather, what they ate for dinner and then the conversation inevitably turns to discussing things they did way back in the dark ages before I was even born. To be forced to listen to these stories and have Doc’s attention and time taken away from me gets my goat, so I have started plotting a way to get her to focus back on my needs. After all I am her fur child.

Over the next few days I tried a variety of stunts to get her attention. On Sunday night when the phone rang I quietly went back to Doc’s bedroom, jumped up on the bed and the first things I did was push all the pillows on the floor. The I used my teeth to strip off the comforter and sheets and pulled them to the floor. One by one I drug everything into the living room and boy that got her attention, but not in a good way. On Monday I went into the kitchen as soon as she started talking and was able to get to tray of biscuits she had cooling on the counter and ate two before she caught me. By last night she was on to me and kept an eye out until she became lost in conversation and I went over to confiscate her favorite throw and drag it across the floor. I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard her tell the caller in a irritated voice, ” I need to go, I have a jealous dog on my hands.”

“What is wrong with you Grover?” she asked sternly. That question stumped me because I didn’t think I was the one with the problem and told her so. ” It’s you! I said, you don’t pay any attention to me when your friends call and I think that’s wrong.” She was silent for a moment and I could tell she was thinking. “Grover, I can’t pay attention to you all the time, I need time for myself to do the things I like to do and you need to respect that. Let’s talk it out and come to a compromise ok?” So after some negotiating I agreed to respect her boundaries of having her own space and she would respect my play and cuddle time with her. I also had to admit to myself and Doc that I’m just a big old hairy mama’s boy.