Man's Best Friend

I like the fact that I'm capable of change. I love the fact that I reverse bad choices and snap judgements, if the facts warrant a change of heart.

I'm talking about the neighbor's dog. He lives behind me. When he first moved in, he barked all the time and I couldn't stand him, but after a week he settled down. I started giving him "quiet treats" - he'd be quiet for a while, I'd praise him and give him a treat. Pretty soon he didn't bark at us at all. Ron brought up a good point, he's our guard dog too. No one's coming over the back fence with him in their yard.

Plus, I got a look at him and he's so ugly he's cute. Obviously the people have him because they love him.

Ron and I have a nice routine now. If we're both in the backyard and the dog is quiet, we'll give him a treat. He loves the routine. When I start clicking my tongue, he sits by the fence. When we see each other, he gets up, tail wagging. He's not a bad dog at all.

Ron and I spent some time in the backyard. Neighbors are barbequeing and everyone's enjoying the mild weather. The pit bull a couple houses down is barking his head off, constantly. I think the poor thing is lonely, driven mad by the smell of roasting meat, and territorial because the owner sees him as cheap "security".

We couldn't help but compare the two dogs, praise "our" dog, and laugh as the cat went and sat right by the fence. Of course he barked. It's a cat. Then the cat lay down and started cleaning hmself, but our guy settled down quickly.

I'm glad he lives behind us now.