New Dog Owner's Odyssey: Day 4 + Political Feature + Confession

NEW DOG OWNER:  DAY 4

Lois & I are at Craig & Sarah's. We got here late yesterday (7/31) afternoon. Sammy got into the house while their dog Oreo was outside. When Craig got home, he let Oreo into the garage. The door from the garage into the kitchen was not closed tightly. Sammy was at Oreo's food & water dish when Oreo head-butted his way into the house.

There was a confrontation that involved snapping & biting. Oreo took exception to Sammy's invasion of his territory. Sammy, we think, had determined that the Worley house, absent any other creature, must be his territory. Oreo was quickly shuffled back outside.

Two subsequent attempts to reintroduce the cousins failed to make amends. Oreo, I think, genuinely wants to make friends. Sammy, I think, genuinely does not. He seems to take genuine offense @ Oreo's attempts to sniff his hindquarters. There continues to be snapping & barking, so we now know that Sammy is indeed capable of barking.

This morning I had to make sure Oreo was outside before I let Sammy out of his kennel [He slept in our {his?} bedroom overnight.} to take him for a walk. Unfortunately, I chose the path which led to the park behind the Worley house. When Oreo saw us, he jumped the fence & briskly approached us [Hadley was with us.] while Sammy was in a most vulnerable position. [Okay, he was squatting to "do his business."]

The good news? There was no altercation . . . no barking . . . no snapping. Hadley helped intervene to get Oreo back to the house. Sammy & I finished our walk & returned, by which time Oreo was safely ensconced [I've been looking for an excuse to use this word.] in the backyard again. Lesson learned? Although the park appears to be a good place to take Sammy to "do his business," I cannot walk him there when he is in sight of Oreo.

2nd lesson learned?  Although I have quickly mastered the art of using a plastic sack to quickly & sanitarily(?) pick up Sammy's "business," I still have a ways to go. Last night as I walked him, when he had finished his "business," I leaned over to carry out the "extraction." I was wearing a sport shirt w/a breast pocket that contained a pen & the gum I carry w/me, since I frequently suffer from dry mouth. Before I could complete the extraction, my pen & gum fell on top of his business. I was appalled, but there was no one to blame but myself. The pen & gum remain as residue in the park.

Excerpts from "Owner Surrender Dog Information Sheet for #10025:  Apparently this was Sammy's ID when he was just another dog in the "system. "How would you describe your dog's behavior around children?' 'Have to have him sit. He could push small child over. Can't wait to pet them or kiss them.' [We found this to be true last evening. Friends came over for Sarah's b-day party. That included two children, Craig's sister & her little 2.5-yr-old, along w/Brianna & Hadley, our grand-daughters. He was very friendly but also heeded our commands & there were no incidents.]

BONUS POLITICAL FEATURE

This should have been saved for my next Political Tuesday blog, but I just couldn't wait.

Favorite Taglines from Drudge Report, 8/1/15, (I didn't bother reading the articles):  

"LEFT TURN: Caitlyn Jenner under fire for being too conservative." [What could I possibly add?]

"Texas man shoots armadillo, gets hit in face by bullet ricochet." [This story was undoubtedly dug up by PETA * in order to make gun owners look bad.]
* People for the Ethical Treatment of Armadillos

Quote by Victor Davis Hanson in "Appeasing Iran Ignores the Lessons of History," from National Review Online, 7/23/15:  ". . . appeasement always brings short-term jubilation at the expense of long-term security. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain was a beloved peacemaker after the Munich Agreement of 1938 w/Adolph Hitler but derided as a conceited fool & naif [*] by May 1940." [I'm thinking of devoting an entire "Political Tuesday" blog entry to the highlights of our President's State Department, but I foresee a very long rant.]
*And, yes, I know what "naif" means:  a naive or inexperienced person.

Quote by Jonah Goldberg in "Huckabee's Hitler Comparison that wasn't," from National Review On-line, 7/31/15:  "Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran's pet terrorist group, Hezbollah, has said, 'If all the Jews gathered in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide . . . It is an open war until the elimination of Israel & until the death of the last Jew on earth.' Until that time, Hezbollah has had to make do w/killing Jews where they find them.
        "Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, & John Kerry don't take the Iranians at their word when they say they want to kill Jews, no matter how clearly & consistently they say it. But they trust the Iranians to stick to their word on this nuclear agreement (which would be a bad agreement even if Iran could be trusted)."  [Two points. First, of COURSE my sources are from National Review. I'm conservative, so I know that the main stream media can't be trusted to report this story objectively & comprehensively. Secondly, can you say "naifs?"]

Confession

If you saw my comments on yesterday's (7/31) Fact-Check Friday, guest-written by my son Nathan, you can tell that I am still on a rant re:  Planned Parenthood. Christ told us to love our enemies; to PRAY for our enemies. This is so hard for me to do! Same goes for praying for those who behead our Christian brothers & sisters, burn alive the pilots they have captured, & crucify children for breaking sharia law. Yet Christ COMMANDS us to pray for our enemies. Two points. I believe with all my heart that Planned Parenthood & those who support its agenda are enemies of the Truth, but I also believe that we/I must pray for them. So may the Lord break their hearts of stone. May they be led to see the evil they promote. May they be defeated at every turn. But may I look at them through the eyes of Jesus & love them, not just as myself, but as Jesus loves me:  unconditionally. Finally, may the Lord lead me in a path that helps promote the cause of the most vulnerable among us & do more than just use words of wrath & condemnation in the fight against evil.