A long time ago, on a blog far, far away, I wrote about one of our RSPCA Rescue dogs, Daisy, and what she taught me about life and writing. I’ve been meaning to write a post about our other rescue dog Ruby, but just haven’t gotten there.
Rubes has just had an operation on one of her knees, and since she had to go to a specialist vet 5 hours away (along with my wife), I’ve been missing her crazy-excited greetings first thing in the morning. By the time this post goes up, Rubes will be home and recovering and hopefully back to her normal excitable old self, but I thought I’d share my take on the World According to Ruby and why she brings so much colour and love to our lives.
The World According to Ruby
Assume everything is food until proven otherwise. Poo is an acceptable form of nutrition, as long as you show your humans that you’re eating it.
Celebrate everything. Going for a drive; going for a walk; getting a new toy; your human comes home from work/a 5 minute walk to the shops. These all call for jumping around madly and tail wagging. Your human mentions “dinner”, “breakfast”, “treat” or any other food-related word? Run around in circles and wag your tail like a helicopter. Wagging your whole body is also acceptable.
Pooing is an art. It’s important to pick the right time as well as the right spot. For example, in front of the mower, while your human is mowing the lawn is perfect. Be sure to face away from the mower and pretend you didn’t see it.
Another perfect time is directly after your human has completed poo patrol and cleared the yard from old poo. There’ll be plenty of clean places to choose from, and be sure to show your appreciation for your human’s cleaning efforts by pooing where she can see you.
No matter what you’re told, bath time is not fun. At the mention of the B word, lay on the ground like dead wood and make your human carry you to the hose. If they want to wash off your rolled-in-something-dead smell, make them work for it.
Drying off is fun though, so make the most of that. The after bath treat is also something to look forward to.
When in trouble, use Puppy Dog Eyes. If that fails, use in conjunction with rolling onto your back. Humans can’t resist giving belly rubs. It calms them down and makes them forget why they were angry in the first place.
Most of all, love everyone. Any human who loves animals, and dogs in particular, is worth your time.