Linus

LINUS

May 3, 2023

Before I got Old, when I was really small, I remember when I first met my Mom. I was with a different family at first and had a mother that looked like me and brothers and sisters and I was really small. This other family would put me and all my brothers and sisters into a basket with little holes in it and carry us from place to place in it. On some days, we would go to a new place called San Francisco and on some days one of my brothers and sisters would leave us and go to a new place but I don’t know where because I could not go with them. When they would leave, I would miss them. Then one day I was in the place called San Francisco and this lady stopped walking and picked me up.

I remember this because she had golden hair and the family I Iived with had dark hair and she was different. And I remember her smile and her laugh and how she said I was “sooooo cute.” And when she picked me up she held me so close to her body and I remember she put her lips to my head and made a noise like “MUAH” and it made me feel happy. I know now that that noise is called “Kiss” and sometimes my mom says, give me a kiss, and then I lick her face. Then sometimes she says, “OK that’s enough!” She doesn’t know I want to give her all the kisses because I just love her so much. I don’t give anyone else kisses because she is the only Mom. But when she says “That’s enough” I go to my bed. I used to be sad when she said that but then I learned she will want more kisses later so I just save them for her.

Of all the humans that held me and put me down, she was my favorite and I hoped she picked me to go home with her. I think actually maybe that is where my other brothers and sisters went, I think they went home with new people. So if we were picking new homes, I wanted to go to hers. I didn’t feel good in my body – I remember I had something called Worms - but I didn’t want her to know, so I acted like I felt ok. And I tried to be extra snuggly and to show her that I fit perfect in her arms so I curled up nice and like a ball and then I looked at her in her blue eyes. I remember they were blue because they were a different color than the other family. And I liked them and she seemed nice, so I picked her and I wished so hard for her to be my new mom and then when it came true I was so happy I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest.

But then when Mom took me away from my brothers and sisters and family with dark hair, I was scared for a little while. I cried and cried in the car. I did this for many times. And then one day I was not scared and I did not think about my brothers and sisters anymore and just Mom. Mom and I have gone on a lot of drives since then. Some drives are very long and some drives are very short and some drives I get to go the the Beach and some drives I get a Puppaccino which is a very special treat. I know when I will get one because the smell in the air is like coffee but not at home.

One thing about Puppaccinos is when we drive there, Mom rolls the window down in the back so I can put my head out and I can smell better. This way also I can look at the humans in the Puppaccino store and I can make them smile and I am good at that job. Also when I have my head out the window it is easier to wag my tail. And sometimes I get a special cookie in the cup. And while I am waiting my mouth waters. Sometimes if I am in the front seat of the car I crawl over her lap and we look out the window together and I like this.

I remember one of the longest drives was when I was very small still and we drove for many days and many nights to a place called Texas. At our old house there were other humans and a cat that lived with us but in this new place it was just me and mom. I liked our new house. We would go to the park with the other dogs but I did not like to play with them and if they got too close to my mom I would bark and protect her, and I was really good at that job. We stopped going to the park and I think it was because I protected her too much because I was so good at that job so we didn’t need to go anymore. But also she would take me swimming and throw a ball in the water and I would leap leap leap to the water’s edge and then I would JUMP and swim and get the ball. Or a stick. I would get those too. And I would bring it back to her and I was really good at that job too.

I cannot do those things now, because I am old but I can remember them. I wish I could do them because the days I could swim or run so fast were the best days. Then when Mom met Big Guy and we would do new things to like go on Boats or Fribee or he would take me to places and we would run run run so fast together. Big Guy is best at the running. Mom is not, which is OK because she is best at other things. But I don’t want them to know I am old so I try and maybe I get one Fribee or if they throw my Leezard- that is my favorite soft toy and it is a Leezard- and if they throw that in the house I still try to run to go get it. At first I started slipping a lot. The floor is cold and smooth and it makes my feet go in different directions, but then one day Mom came home and put rugs everywhere so now I can run after Leezard again and I am happy. I think I have a really good life for a dog.

I don’t know much about other dogs but I think that maybe I get to do more fun things than other dogs and I get really good food and I get a lot of head scratches. And I also think that I will keep trying to do my best even though I am getting old. Today I feel different. Maybe a little more tired. But this is OK because one of my favorite things to do is lay in the sunbeam that comes through the windows. It makes me feel warm and like I am getting a hug from the sky. I do this every day. So on days that I am tired I get to lay in the sunbeam so I don’t think its too bad.

I am still very hungry all the time but sometimes when I eat I throw up, which is something I have always done but I think since I started feeling different, I do it more. When Mom sees, she says, “Aw, Buddy” and says, “it’s OK,” so I think it is maybe just a normal part of getting older. I will trust her on this, and it is OK. I also noticed that when I started to throw up more, that my food changed. Now it is wet and dry in the same bowl, and it tastes different than my old food which was fish flavor. Mom and Big Guy said it gave me something called salmon breath. Salmon is fish, I know this. But now no salmon breath. So now it is extra good though because it is something humans call gravy. See, I watch them very close and this is what they do- what they do is they put one scoop of the dry food and then one scoop of the wet food and then a powder and then they put the water from the sink in it and then I have to “wait until it makes gravy.” I will tell you; it takes a very long time. Sometimes maybe 17 hours. Sometimes five minutes. But I like this new food and they put it in a funny new bowl with different shapes and it takes me a lot longer to eat but I think it is fun.

One thing about me is that I really like to eat my food. And the crunchy cookies that Mom gets out of a special box. And the ones that look like bacon. And the ones that Big Guy drops and I eat them so I can help them keep the house clean. When I was a Puppy, I would stand up as tall as possible on my very tip toes to see what I could get off the counter. Sometimes chicken. Sometimes watermelon. Sometimes if I was very sneaky I could get steak. But I had to be sneaky or they would say, LINUS GET DOWN. I hope that I always get the snacks, even though I am Old now. They are one of my favorite parts of my whole day.