Gretchen went with Don to the Cities this past week as he was having two more VA appointments, and we both thought that Gretchen would benefit from the change of scenery. Gretchen has been acting very depressed lately, and we can only attribute it to the fact that Heidi is going to have babies, and she is not. When Heidi went into heat awhile back, it triggered a chain reaction in our house that was just wild. First, we had Heidi running around, leaving red splotches everywhere she sat. We brought a red and black (saddle back) AKC male German Shepherd down from the cities, and we kept him for a week while they got ‘married.’ And within two weeks, we had Gretchen doing the same thing. Except, without the same end results. BUT WAIT!!! That’s not all! Little old Sasha, who is 13 years old and who will be 14 on January 28th ALSO went into heat! And she was far worse than the other two, combined! Sasha, who is a tiny Pomeranian, has had two pregnancies in her lifetime. Each pregnancy resulted in the birth of 5, large, healthy puppies, one of which is my little Jeremiah. “Jeremiah is a small dog, he is a good friend of mine….” Well, being the veteran and Grand Dame that she is, Sasha was actually running BACKWARDS up to the other dogs, and drove everyone in the house nuts for almost two weeks! So I told Don, “See, there IS hope for Lorraine, after all!” Lorraine is Don’s 88 year-old aunt who lives with us. (Tee, hee, hee). So anyway, Heidi is preggers, Gretchie is not, and Gretchen is now very, very depressed.
So Don went up to the cities and did the VA thing, all without incident. And then, he made the trip home.
They pulled into the McDonalds at St. Peter shortly before midnight last night. Don put his order in at the squawk box, and in the process or driving forward to pay at the first window for his food, Gretchen reached up with her head, and turned on the passenger-side light on the mirror. Don says that she wanted them to see how pretty she is, probably in order to get a dog biscuit. They get excited at the bank drive-thru also. But this is the first time she has ever turned the light on. So they got up to the window to pick up the food, and the guy waiting on them said “Hey! I’ve got a dog just like that at home!” To which Don replied, “Cool!” And then, Gretchie shut the light off again.
No, just kidding….
Don shut the light off, and they headed down the road. When they got to Mankato, Don’s intent was to stop at Cub food in order to purchase some cooking items for the Christmas baking. When he went to get out of the car, he noticed that his bootlaces were untied. So he hung his feet outside the door and tied one boot, and in the process of tying the 2nd boot, he felt a dog flying over his back from the passenger seat, and into the parking lot. Another customer was just coming out from the store with his cart full of groceries. Gretchen ran over near him. He immediately looked fearful, but Don called out that she is gentle, and would not hurt him. So he assisted Don in trying to catch Gretchen, who was racing all over the parking lot like her typical idiot self, totally ignoring them. Normally, the parking lot at Cub foods in Mankato is totally filled with cars, and the highway going past the store is a very, very busy street. Fortunately, at this time of night it is fairly quiet. Don was not seeing any humor in the situation, as he was trying to figure out just how he was going to explain to me that my dog got creamed in Mankato on the way home. Gretchen then turned around and ran toward the other guy, who was calling her by name. And when she got almost up to him, she raced around the car, and came over towards Don. When she got up close to Don, she darted around him and headed towards Cub Foods. Evidently, she had some shopping to do. She was on a mission. She went up to the entrance door, which opened just as it should. (This evidently is also a “doggie-door” besides being a human door.) She went inside the cart area, grabbed a cart (no, just kidding..) and then went to the inside entrance door, which also automatically opened. And then, Gretchen went inside Cub foods.
Don and the other guy looked at one another and headed into the store after her. Guess what department she headed for? You got it – the MEAT department! She had heard that there was a great sale on beef and pork… So, the other guy got on one side of the aisle, and Don got on the other side, and since she was in the middle of the aisle she had to go towards either one or the other. And she chose to go towards the other guy, who grabbed her leash and gave her back to Don. Meanwhile, there was an employee washing the floor, who was watching this whole event with interest, and laughing.
Don then took the detainee back out to the car, where she immediately sat down in the driver’s seat so that she could pick him up at the door when he was through shopping. NOT!
The proceeding story is all “According to Don” who was witness to the whole event…. And other than the places where we have said “just kidding’ these events are ALL TRUE. Folks, you read it here, first. Meanwhile, Don is taking reservations for those who want to take Gretchen shopping, THE NEXT TIME.
2 comments:
That dog is DOOMED! You need to figure out a way to keep her from running! I'm so glad Don and the other guy caught her before she actually jumped into the meat counter and chewed up a fortune in meat!
Oh, I know, Connie. She went through training as a puppy, and she has always had the problem of NOT coming when she is called. She now chases cars down our road, as well. We are watching the Shock Collar video, and I have to shave her neck. She will now get 'shock-therapy' treatment when she takes off like an idiot.
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