Checking in from the Dog Breath Saloon

Hey it’s Belle, the Rousch House Border Collie checking in. I just turned 21 and I can now go to the Dogs’ Breath Saloon to celebrate. While I ponder over my bowl of Stout, I thought I’d share an update. Lots of new news …

The Big Guy, aka, Big Guy with a Beard (BGWB), aka ball thrower, has been doing some strange things lately. He spends more time in front of the computer, then has this pretty lady with golden hair come over (I like her) and they sit on the back deck and talk to a black thing on a stick. They will talk for a few minutes, then get up to change their shirts, and do it again. Sometimes they do it three times. Strange behavior.

What BGWB does not know is I have figured out how to use his computer when he is sleeping, and thanks to AL, or is it AI, (I get them mixed up), I’m able to write this update. Most mornings I let him sleep until 6 a.m. when I take a running leap from the floor and land on him. I think it is a great way to start the day, I’m not sure he feels the same way. He groans a bit and he gets up and we go outside to do my business, and I get to smell the yard to see who was visiting overnight.

BGWB training is progressing, but sometimes I think he is a slow learned, not like me. Tell me once and I got it. I play dumb from time to time to make him work at it and make him feel like he is training me, but I’m training him. If I keep at him with my poking paw and low growl, I can get him out of the computer chair, and we go outside to do my favorite aerial ball catching routine. BGWB has this blue thing that shoots the ball in the air so I can show off my leaping grabs with a full or half twist. I wonder if there is dog Olympics that I could go to?

The nice gray hair lady (GHL) with my older sister Piper is busy too. Piper and I get along pretty well, but at times I growl at her and show some teeth to let her know we need to share the gray-haired lady a bit more.

We recently spent two weekends at a place that was wide open with trees and grass and lots of room to chase the balls shot from the blue tube. We lived in the big, long silver thing pulled by my favorite white truck. I hope we can do that more although I was tired at the end of the day which seemed to make BGWB happy. When all four of us were in the big silver thing going to sleep it was a bit crowded. I was up front with BGWB and GHL was in the middle with Piper sleeping under her pull out bed. I shared a big bed with BGWB until he started moving, so I went to the rug on the floor. I prefer the soft bed; he just needs to lie still. I’ll work on that.

Things are good at the Rousch House. I follow BGWB anywhere he goes. I must keep an eye on him to make sure he stays out of trouble. I love our routine of getting the mail where I get to trot down the side of the road and smell who last visited. Our path to the trash bins is fun as I get to explore the side yard outside the fence to see who has visited. My dog’s life is good, I hope yours is too. I must turn the computer off and go pounce on the BGWB. I feel the need for speed chasing the orange ball. Woof!

Belle is John Rousch’s 3-year-old border collie and occasional columnist. Belle can be contacted at 863-273-0522. Ask for John, he will help hold the phone for me, or write me at [email protected]. Check out “Flightlines – The Stories Behind the Stories” on YouTube.com/@flightlinesthestories. Website: flightlinestories.com