Home Is Where The Dogs Are

I am greeted daily by

four pairs of warm brown eyes

wet kisses, cool noses

prying paws

Mornings begin before the sun is up

each four-legged fellow eager for

breakfast and belly rubs

What will today’s adventures be?

A fresh hole in the middle of the backyard

Chewed up carpet on the stairs

An epic cat chase around the house

A midday snack of someone’s shoes

“This is why we can’t have nice things”

has become the family joke

“This” being our boys, our beasties

our beloved canine clan

Diesel – So tall that he rests his head comfortably

on the dining table during mealtime

yet within the imposing exterior

lives a doting, gentle soul

Ollie – The beagle with the loudest snore

on the planet (and perhaps beyond)

The most flagrant flirt and biggest beggar

He’s got everyone fooled

Boba and Jango – The young pups

blood brothers and chief troublemakers

with adorable black and tan mugs

that beg for quick forgiveness

No matter how much I sweep

paw prints forever adorn the hardwood floors

No matter how much I dust

hair balls float like ghosts around the room

The family room is strewn with

blankets, chew toys, gnawed bones

and the backyard has been renamed

(affectionately) “Poopville”

What others might view as chaos

we see as the perfect home

A little bit messy, a little bit crazy

but filled with a whole lot of love

Our love for our doggie brood

is unconditional, unending

Life would not be the same

without their shenanigans

Home would not be home

without them