We have two little dogs, Mr. Peabody, a Pekingese/Poodle mix, with no desire to be more than a decoration on our laps. When we bought him, he was very quiet and continues to be that way, which is really nice when you realize how yappy little dogs can be. He is just about fourteen pounds of snuggles and love. He has an underbite, pushed-in face, and eyes that communicate volumes of adoration. We purchased Misty as a companion for Mr. Peabody. She is a two-year-old dynamo, tiny but mighty (at least in her own mind). At ten pounds (a Papillon/Bischon mix), she makes up for all the noise Peabody doesn't make. Misty has quite an attitude. She does not like it when people attempt to approach her - she wants to approach them on her terms. She has a tendency to sneak up on people, nip at the back of their pant legs, then run in the opposite direction. So far she has not actually bitten anyone except family (a story for another time) and I truly think those bites surprised her almost as much as those she nipped. Both pups absolutely love our granddaughters. All we have to say is the girls are coming over, and both dogs begin looking for them.
Everyone in our association knows Mr. Peabody and Misty. When we walk them around the path Misty always has a ball in her mouth. She runs to pick one out each time she leaves the house. Most of them return home with her, but some are still out there somewhere. During the summer, the dogs love meeting the children in the area. Peabody will graciously allow them to pet him excessively, while Misty will drop her ball at their feet and happily retrieve it when it is tossed. One neighbor, about half-way through our walk, has a bird bath that is just the right height for the pups to take a drink from it each time they pass her house. Her cat sits at the patio door and stares at them. They are definitely entertaining.
Both pups sleep in our bed - I know, the dog whisperer doesn't like that - Peabody wrapped around my feet and Misty between us. She has one problem, however. We have a pillow top mattress with a two-inch foam pad on top of it. While Peabody has no trouble jumping on the bed, Misty is not quite as successful. She must go into the closet, turn and run before projecting herself onto the bed. If there is space to accomplish this feat, she settles down for a nice warm snuggle time. However, if she leaves the bed in the middle of the night, there is not as much room in the bed and she is unable to project herself quite as far. She thumps her nose into the foam pad and she needs to try again. She does this a few times before sitting down and whimpering for one of us to help her. Ron has no problem getting her to come to him for a lift into the bed. I, however, am not successful because she will not allow me to pick her up! I am the alpha in the family as far as the dogs are concerned. I am the one who bathes them, brushes them and clips their nails. I am much less likely to pamper them than Ron is and he happily admits to being "low man on the totem pole," in the house. I think I intimidate Misty. She loves to cuddle up when I'm not in a position to groom her, but at other times, she avoids me.
This morning, Misty wanted to jump into bed with me after Ron had wakened and was readying himself for the day. I moved over to make room for her, and Peabody, after grumbling in the way only he can, moved as well. After about six thumps, she began to whimper. I patted the mattress, she backed into the closet and tried again - thump. She tried again and thumped again. I called her to try to pick her up and she would not come near me. She tried again a few times with the same results. Her whimpers gained volume, but she would not come to me for help. After another few tries, her whimper became more of a groan than a plea and she crawled under the bed.
Here is my "message" moment. I think that we are often like Misty. God is waiting to help us obtain what we want. Instead of allowing him to pick us up and provide the help we need, we continue on our own, stubborn and independent - wanting to do things our way. We continually bump our noses on obstacles to the blessings God has for us. Instead of allowing him to guide our steps and learning from our mistakes, we back away from him and avoid him in the attempt to make our own way.
It would be so much easier if we just relaxed and allowed God to pick us up. Now, the question is whether to buy some steps for Misty. Her nose must be getting sore.
