A Visit Goes Badly

It's so hard adjusting to a new home. There are new people, new smells, new food, new rules...

Owner tries hard, but really is pretty hopeless. She won't let me play with any other dogs when we go walking. I shout out greetings to them, but she keeps pulling me back. And she spends so much time using her paws on the bright object, intensely focused--like when I'm going after squirrels. She'll look up on occasion and smile and pet me. But she's very determined to work on that bright shiny thing.

And sometimes she goes away. She leaves the music on in the room when she makes the food, and heads out. Without me! The nerve! Sometimes she will come back with treats. But usually she brings back something for herself.

But, really, I shouldn't complain. She feeds me, walks me, and gives me belly rubs. What more could a dog want?

Indeed, life is pretty good. Except for Rufus, the pit bull upstairs, He just leans over the balcony and snarls at me. It freaks me out every time, even though I know he's there. Other than my charming neighbor, I've met a couple of nice dogs--there's Sophie, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and Miko, a German Shepherd. We all greet one another on our morning walks, with Owner tensing up every time. Really, she needs to relax.

One of my favorite things to do is to get into the moving contraption and check out the scenery. In fact, we're in it right now. Fairly quickly, we arrive at another home. We get out and I'm taken into a strange place. I start sniffing around with Owner looking on anxiously and an older couple smiling. I go into a big room with lots of chairs. There, in a corner, is a bizarre stationary object that freaks me out immediately. I start talking at it furiously, and Owner and the older female start laughing.

Well, I'll show them. I scoot along and right on the carpet start to pee. Owner turns bright red and whisks me out of the room to the backyard. I see the older woman looking sadly at the rug.

While I've only known Owner for a little bit, I have never seen her so mad. All I know is that what she is saying is the human equivalent of "Bad, bad dog."

I start to wonder if I went too far. Ugh, it is so hard figuring out these humans. Don't they have a sense of humor?!