Thunder and Lightning

We know that Sarah, our recently adopted 10 year old Golden Retriever, was a farm girl with limited house priveleges in her previous life. Couches, dog beds, fluffy pillows and cozy rugs. No way. Hard floor next to the back door, please. She much prefers sitting outdoors on the deck with one eye on the squirrels and birds who dare step foot in our fenced in yard. She will sit all day in the rain if a squirrel is lurking nearby. She joined our family in late April. She hasn't yet been with us for winter but I expect it will be the same. Deck, squirrels, birds, sun, snow, bliss.

Riley, our white schnauzer is still coming to terms, after eight years, that we expect him to go outside to, AHEM, you know, "GO", regardless of the weather. He's wagging his stubby little tail at the back door, all set to go out. When I open the door and he sees that it is raining/snowing, he turns and looks at me with these accusatory eyes, drops his head, tucks his tail and reluctantly trots down the back steps. When he gets to the bottom of the step and the first rain drops hit his back he will turn, look back at me with dejected eyes and zip right back up the stairs to the back door. He is a bit of a wimp and enjoys the benfits of curling up on the couch, looking out the front window from the recliner, snuggling in a lap and sleeping on the end of the bed curled up with the cats. In fact, much of his behavior suggests he sometimes identifies as a cat. But that, my friends, is another post. The point is, weather doesn't scare him, he just would prefer not to get wet.

Last month, we had a real whopper of a thunder and lightning storm. Up until then I could confidently say that our dogs are not fazed by thunder and lightning.

So imagine our surprise when, during that last big storm, we couldn't find our dogs. Had one of the kids let them out??? Was one of the back gates open? A frantic search of the house found Riley poking his nose out from under the bed. Sarah's tail thumping led us to a shower stall where she was curled up, trying to hide.

Sort of reminds me of my own reaction when the phone rings on a Friday afternoon and caller ID says it's the Division of Family Services Placement Team - calling, looking to place some children. You know, a nice sibling group of five with anger management issues. So, if you call me on a Friday afternoon and I don't answer the phone, it is probably because I am in the shower. Or hiding under the bed.