Who'd a Thunk It?

After the flurry of knitting this weekend, I now find myself knit-less.

This condition, similar to wit-less, is finding yourself without one brain cell, entirely devoted to knitting. I woke up, thinking about my border collie, Mandy.

Now, Mandy is an odd dog. She thinks she's the boss around here, and I have to keep reminding her (daily) that she's not. She thinks she can decide when she's got to go potty and when she doesn't. Of course, you know, that if she decides she doesn't need to go potty, a standard "wrestle" in the afternoon, and refuses to go outside, she will invariably have an accident at some point, somewhere, sometime during the night.

This is never a good idea...this form of "holding it". She can be very adamant about not wanting to go outdoors--either in heat, rain or cold--and while I can understand that for myself (being pretty much fur-less), I can't understand it for HER. What with her self-shedding coat. It's too bad, too, because she gets so embarrassed when she has accidents--and of course, scolded. We don't have sheep anymore, and so she doesn't have a job. I can't allow her to run, because of the added problem "run AWAY", as fast and as far as she can. She needs a home with a big yard and a lot of fence. And not just electric fence either.

I would say she isn't too bright, except that really she is. Not many dogs know when they have to potty and when to let you know, either by a bark or by laying their head in your lap--soulful eyes peering up at you--their eyeballs watering because they have to go sooo bad! It's a terrible and painful thing to wait one second too long, isn't it doggie?

But because of this terrible "I'm the boss" attitude, Mandy has to spend nights in jail

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

.

I don't think she's too offended by this. Most dogs like to feel safe--to have a little haven where they can be alone to rest and do whatever thinking they do, and a kennel is perfect for that. So she has her "bed" inside her kennel.

It's just ME that thinks she's in jail. We let her out to roam around the house (except in summer, when we pretty much lock ourselvs in our bedroom with the window air-conditioner) during the day, but then lock her in the kennel during the night, because she tends to startle at every sound, bark at anything that moves, and jumps up and down off the bed. This activity is not conducive to her parent's sleep patterns. She also goes outdoors on a leash, because otherwise, she would run away, and it's very likely I'd never see her again.

So she sleeps at night, for the most part, with the occasional 'get up, spin around to find a comfy spot, lie down again' activity. We have a huge yard. I wish I could just let her out to play. But I fear her being gone forever, hit by some idiot driver--or even "stolen" by some caring person who thinks she's lost and can't find her way back home.

Like my last Border Collie.

Who I still miss terribly.