Scribbles and Scrambles ~ You Know You've Got a Great Bladder When...

Isn't this carrot gnawing dog cute? Awww.

Well, she wasn't so cute on Wednesday.

We've been working on nice, appropriate guest greetings. This particular little sweetie, Lola, is very barky. And a 70 lb barking dog can be a little scary for those who a) aren't dog fans b) aren't big dog fans or c) anyone else who might be annoyed by that behavior. I do fall into the c category.

When we know someone is coming we try to set the stage to succeed. We issue a "NO BARK!" command and get them to sit and stay. We release them when they are calm, they usually take a few sniffs and go about their business. Win. Win. Win.

Mom came over. All went well. Very well, actually. Lola also has this sweet thing she does... a little kiss planted directly on the lips. Of course she has to jump up on her hind legs to pull that off, but usually she only kisses me or her dog-mom. So I was watching her carefully...no sign of that quirk, so I relaxed.

Then Feral strode into the room and slunk past my Mom.

And Lola barked. One sharp, "I see you, you weaselly cat!" bark...which echoed nicely in the cavernous room.

Unfortunately. Not only was the bark loud and sudden. But it was directly behind my unsuspecting Mom.

YIKES! It is totally impolite to laugh at someone who may have just wet their pants because your animals double teamed them...but I am a terribly impolite person who often apologizes while choking back gales of laughter.

My mom decided that she might need to use the ladies restroom after all.

Fortunately, today we were able to laugh about it and find the positive. Sometimes, as we age our muscles sag and by golly, laughing, sneezing and a sudden fright can all wreak havoc on our kegels. Right, Ladies? But this little incident proved that my mother can still call her bladder Ol Ironsides. We decided that the animals were maybe working in concert to test that out for her.... we'll just call it a homemade Cat Scan.

Sorry Mom, and thanks for the Dregs fodder.

And let me know if any of you would like to schedule one.