THE BUD SAGA - PART 3

My smile is all over my face this morning! The first reason is the hours of sleep I got last night – to bed at midnight and stayed in the arms of Murphy until 10 AM this morning! Wow! That in itself is an achievement. Then I wake up to fresh coffee (Heinz sneaked upstairs quietly and prepared it); the sun is out there and the view is magnificent; the Canadiens game is televised at 13:30 this afternoon; and the cherry on the sundae? I’m babysitting my two little rug rats (there will soon be three!!) right after the game.

But wait! There’s more. Yoshiko is already on the flight bound for home and will be landing at the airport around 2:30 this afternoon. Shan is in Quebec city with friends, attending both a minor hockey tournament and the renown Carnival. I’m pretty sure the older grandchildren are on the ski hills. Oh my, but life is good!

And here is the third chapter of my Bud Saga.

YOU WANT ME TO BABY-SIT WHAT??? - Part 3

I closed the door, watching the dogs from the corner of my eye. There were large cushions on the floor, and the labs trotted over to them, turned around a couple of times, then flopped down. The pit immediately jumped up onto the couch, and settled himself smack in the middle of it. Staking his territory? I was pretty sure their master did not allow them on the furniture.

“Are you supposed to be up there?” I asked him. No reaction, other than fixing me with that stare. I considered my options…. leave him there and let my friend deal with it whenever he returned? Or force the pit to get down and join the other dogs?

“Hey!” I used a louder tone. “Get down!” The stare never wavered...then he sighed and lowered his head between his front paws.

Okay, I guess that meant we were going with the first option. I consoled myself by noting that there were only two cushions on the floor .…maybe he was used to being on the couch. And I wouldn’t be sitting there anyway. I liked the rocking chair by the fire better, didn’t I? Thus, unwittingly, I set the stage for my stay. There can be only one lead dog in a pack...one boss….and I had just handed that role to the pit.

The rest of the evening was uneventful, other than my being aware that each time I moved the pit would lift his head and watch me. But then, so did the two labs, so I quelled the uneasiness by telling myself it was normal. Their master worked from home, so they were used to having him with them constantly. Suddenly, he was gone, they were completely alone for a few days, and now a semi-stranger was wandering around in here. Of course they were confused and, like good dogs, watchful.

It was not late when I prepared for bed. My early morning, the long day at work, the excitement from the latest events, and now the total silence in the house...it caused me to nod sleepily in front of the fire. I decided I'd feel safer upstairs in the bedroom.

It was a Swiss chalet type of construction, and there was no door separating this bedroom from the rest of the house. Feeling silly while doing it, I carefully stuck a chair into the opening at the top of the stairs. The pit could probably jump over it quite easily. Still, I thought, it's better than nothing.

I was cuddled up in bed and, somewhere between the awake and the dream state, I remembered the name. Bud. Yep, that was it - the three B’s….Beef, Ben and Bud.

Little did I know that I would hardly ever call him that. As of the next day he would baptized “you little S**t!”. Tomorrow, we would start the war.

(to be cont’d)


I have some work to be done before the hockey game starts, so now wish you a happy, sunny day, wherever you are. Sending you my SMILE - hope you'll share yours too!

Luv from the Bush in Quebec