the puppy
croodling up next to her brand new toy —
a highland cow
with five squeakers
and a witch hat
and a vibe of playing
i’ve never seen her do
with any
other
toy
is it love?
is it play-acting her hunting instincts?
do we care that much?
no —
we just like to see her
happy
guest cats upstairs
and our animals down
trying so hard to figure out
what’s going on
the puppy
sniffing
and snoofing
and investigating
hardcore
and the cat
just kinda
hissing
every time she passes
that door
and the orange cats
seemingly
unaware of it all
needy puppies
need treats and attention
and consoling when in pain
and constant playing when not
and i wouldn’t have it any other way
this poor poor puppy
from the street
to a home where
she tore both acl’s
needed surgeries
got nausea and scabs
and bumps all over
[not to mention at least one leg broken]
and finally, when she wasn’t the one giving us
veterinary grief
the cat goes and develops
hyperthyroidism
and irritable bowel disease
and then
as the cat calms down
from all her puking and med-strategizing
the puppy, once again, has a sore on her paw
which she licks and licks
and ends up in a cone
with antibiotics
and steroids
and somehow swollen ears
and we think we get all that under control
and here come the obsessive paw-licks again
i’m sorry, Computer, but you’re going to need to be
in a cone once more,
at least while we’re gone for the day
poor poor poor poor puppy.
that was
the greatest part of my morning
the greatest morning
a cat on my lap
enjoying the scritches
from my left hand
and a puppy at my feet
leaning into me
enjoying the scritches from my
right hand
and though i got no writing done
and it only lasted about ten minutes
i was in a blissful heaven
the whole time
birds
swooping down in
the rain
puppies
pawing at the floor
for attention
and the outside
and the inside
always have some parallels
but it’s the liminal spaces in-between
where i find my own comfort
our dog has become
the neediest little puppy
in this, her third year
and perhaps it is simply because
she is not doctor-ordered to
not
follow us upstairs
and jump in beds
and leap on laps
or perhaps she has gotten used to us
and what we will allow
and what we
won’t
but my goodness
the amount of barks for playtime
and dances for attention
and literal time spent in my lap
[yes, this 45-pound dog
sits in my lap
while i sit
on a dining room chair]
has most definitely increased
within this past
year
at least our animals exist
i don’t know how much of the outside world
i could survive
knowing about,
if i didn’t have giant puppy dog eyes
and happy puppy tails
and gentle cat purrs
and quaint cat meows
and wonderful little animal cuddles
to come home to every day
[or even stay home with
when the world is too much]
[how in the world do folks without pets
(and with depression)
survive?]
once again i’m
writing in my bed while i
feel a little dread from
the world around me but
my cat is purring and
my dog is sighing and
my kip is working and
i suppose i’ll give tomorrow a go
Computer has officially
exited her shark era;
turning a solid three-years-old,
she is no longer a puppy who will bite
everything she can get her teefies on.
so we celebrated by having a long walk
in her shark halloween costume,
playing in the park
with her best dog friend,
and getting an ice cream
and a new shark toy
once home again.
and she celebrated the way she does
every other day —
by being the happiest,
most tail-waggedy,
puppiest puppy
we’ve ever seen.
[even if the shark era has ended, i believe
the puppy era will continue on
forever]
kipventures 