Living With Oreo

While rummaging through Cheryl's photo collection on our hard drive (Is rummaging the right word for computer browsing?), I came across this picture of Oreo playing with his friend Mickey. Mickey's owners live on a nearby street and occasionally Oreo and the Mickster get together in one of their backyards for a puppy playdate.

It's a treat to watch these two overgrown pups play. They wrestle and growl and nip at one another without stopping for as long as an hour. At times it sounds like a battle to the death but for dogs, it's all in good fun. After they're finished, Oreo comes home exhausted and, because he's a furry breed, coated in dog drool. I'm fine with the former which means no need to walk or play with a tired dog but the drool I can live without.

Mickey has introduced me to another in a seemingly endless series of anthropomorphic dog activities. Not only do owners dress up their dogs, feed them human food and otherwise treat them like people. Now they also throw birthday parties for their mutts.

Oreo has been invited to Mickey's first birthday party next month. Apparently there will be a gathering of several dogs in Mickey's backyard and I believe there will be presents and perhaps even an Alpo cake. No word yet on whether an aging, alcoholic, chain-smoking dog will dress up as a clown and provide the entertainment. Stay tuned.

Update on Oreo's behaviour: Perhaps I spoke too soon the other day when I said that Oreo's a well-behaved dog. This morning I came downstairs and found a small stuffed toy mouse dangling from his mouth. The toy's right foot had been severed and the small beads from its innards were spread about the living room carpet. Apparently someone forgot to close the door to Sarah's bedroom. Oh well, this is not the first casualty from Sarah's menagerie and it's not likely to be the last. I'm just thankful she doesn't have one of those giant teddy bears whose stuffing could likely cover an entire room.