Our neighbor Muriel has a new puppy named Gus. And because Muriel works long hours, she doesn't have much time to take her dog out for long walks or to play with kids or other dogs. One might say Gus leads an upscale, suburban, uneventful, sanitary life. So rather than have the dog sit at her side in the home office all day, Muriel takes the pup to doggie day care three days a week. Gus loves to go to day care because it gives him a chance to run loose, play with other dogs, have a social life and even take a nap if he feels like it. And they even have doggie snacks.
When I was a lad, city dogs had a different kind of life. They ran free and somehow avoided being run over by cars. City dogs must have been smarter; bet they had more fun too.
My friend Bill Bosnak had a dog, a boxer named Buster, and everyone in the neighborhood knew that dog. When we played baseball, Buster would roam the outfield or follow Bill around the bases. And when we played football, the dog was equivalent to another blocker. But Buster never did learn to ice-skate. Maybe he wasn't so smart after all.
When we adopted our first daughter, we decided every kid ought to have a dog. So we went to the pound, picked up a skinny, light-brown mutt and named him Finnegan. When we added two more children to our family, Finnegan was there checking out each new arrival and, as they were growing up, he'd follow them to the bus stop each morning. Then he'd roam the neighborhood, sit on the porch with the elderly couple from Philadelphia, hike a couple of more blocks for a handout at a friend's house. But he was always back at the bus stop when the kids arrived. I never figured out how Finnegan knew when to be at the bus stop. He didn't even wear a watch. But he was one smart pup.
WHEN FRANK ISN'T WALKING AND PICKING UP AFTER HIS GRANDDAUGHTER'S DOG, HE CAN BE REACHED AT FBURGE@CMP.COM.
http://www.eetimes.com/
RSS
RSS| 
Digital| 
Mobile
