By Nellie Curtiss …
My cocker spaniel and community cats eat pretty healthy. Ask any of them. When my back is turned, or when I’m napping, they can root out the best prizes.
One day not so long ago, I came home dog-tired from a grocery run. Pulling some of the groceries in and onto the couch, I slipped into a nap faster than Rip Van Winkle in the Catskill Mountains fairy tale. (I had refrigerated the yogurt and put the avocados on the counter, though) When I noticed that my spaniels (I had three at that time) didn’t climb into siesta position with me, I didn’t think any more about it.
I woke from resetting my brain, then wrestled with the groceries I had propped up on the couch. Shifting the avocados that I had on the counter, I thought, “Oh, yeah, I have tomatoes and onions for guacamole salad.”
So, I scrunched the City Market bags together in my hand and with Schroeder, RooRoo and Tigger under foot, I began putting away the goods.
“Ha! And where are the tomatoes?” I wondered. Then I saw Schroeder, diving onto the divan to find a loose vine tomato. “No, no, no,” I said.
As I looked down, the evidence was all around. Both Lena and Nikki looked guilty. But I couldn’t tell if Schroeder was speaking the truth or not. The cats were looking on like supervisors. I saw pieces of tomato skins all along the sofa cover, and huge wet spots, too, from the juiciest of the once-and-future “guac tomatoes”!
Nikki’s tummy was pretty taut. Lena’s likewise. “Hmmm,” I thought.
I texted a friend who tapped back, “Who would have thought that dogs would eat tomatoes?” I never once suspected the cats of anything – though yesterday RooRoo nearly took my fingers off when I popped a can of green olives.
Tiffany, also known as prissy, had urges to abscond with my Mary Kay Lipsticks. She waited until I was busy cooking or bathing before she would unzip and dig for her prize – lip gloss. Many a time, I thought I had put my purse where she couldn’t reach it and later discovered how innovative she was. She LOVED that lipstick.
As I think back to that episode, I still don’t know which dog pounced on my bag of apples and ate nearly all of them through the mesh sack. The missing chunks give away the story. They can’t hide from me. Those rascals!
Sometimes my long-ago furry friends would chomp their fill of Crayolas, too. So, the pups taught me to secure art supplies in well-sealed tubs or cookie tins.
I still shake my head at how they survived their investigations or resolves to eat everything. Sometimes, I suspect the acts were psychological in nature. Obviously, they were trying to get my attention since I was English faculty and always had my eyes on student papers. Back then I didn’t have a “doggy door” to propel their probing noses outside.
So what does it say when three dogs eat six tomatoes while you are napping. You guessed it. They must be hungry or setting their New Year’s Resolutions to eat healthier with or without my help.
Columns by nellie 