Rudi

I read an article recently that talked about the irony of being a dog. Dogs have the best noses in the world, but isn’t it ironic that they also have dog breath? We have a Miniature Schnauzer named Rudi. Rudi was a pound puppy, a dog who was found for us by someone who volunteered at a county dog pound. As soon as he arrived at our house, he made it known that he is my wife, Sandy’s dog. Rudi is about 15 inches tall, and thinks he is much bigger. When the door bell rings, he starts barking. When I tell him to stop it, he stands there and huffs at door like he is trying to make himself bigger.

Rudi also thinks he is a blood hound, and is always sniffing around when we take him for a walk. Often, the thing he is trailing is something like a cricket, and I have to pull him away, so we can get on with our walk. Rudi can spend hours sniffing a cable television box or fire plug before raising his leg to contribute his message on the doggie texting post. I often wonder if he really can tell anything about the dogs that have recently visited the fire plug.

Sniff, sniff: "Oh, there’s a sweet 05 Chihuahua with a bit of tartness… and there’s that 04… no 03 Heinz 57 from up the street with a fruity bouquet." As much as I make fun of his desire to sniff around and how much he is getting from it, I was recently impressed when he was let out of his kennel recently and immediately knew Sandy had returned home after being gone for two weeks. She had silently entered the house and sat on the sofa, while I let Rudy out of his kennel. He came up the stairs and started trotting from room to room, looking for her. When he tracked her down after about 30 seconds, Rudi immediately forgave her for leaving him alone with me and our son, Travis. Dogs are great that way.