The Three of Us

You might say golf is big in our house. We all play. Well, my big sis Sambuca and I don’t really play, but we are big fans. Okay, so we aren’t exactly fans, but we do like the creature comforts our human provides so we give the odd tale wag when golf is on TV. You have probably deduced by now that our mom Tanya is a golf addict.

After a morning round of golf, mom usually comes home, takes a shower, and goes out to our little backyard patio to enjoy a beer.  Sambuca and I run around in the backyard.  Most of the time, she is watching us and tossing a ball or frisbee. 

Not on this day. This day, Tanya was on her phone deep in conversation with someone.

Sambuca looks at me, Hey, want to go exploring?

Sounds like a plan! what’s exploring?

Sambuca says Follow me.  She is my big sister, so who am I to argue?

We stroll over to the house next door. There are a ton of new smells for us.  This is awesome!

Sambuca ventures to another backyard and I follow.

All of a sudden, I hear, “Sambuca! Appy!  Come here!”

Sambuca is chopping on some long grass.  Her ears go up and she starts to run back to our backyard.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t finished this new game.

“Appy! Appy!! Where are you?”  Tanya’s voice gets louder.

I’m thinking I should head toward the voice when suddenly I see this huge bird! My heart races and I have tunnel vision.  Wow! I’ve never seen such a huge bird. As I watch, this winged angel of the skies takes flight.  I run up a driveway in pursuit and find myself in somebody’s front yard.  Cars are whizzing by on the street, but I’m not afraid.  I am Super Pup!

I watch for a break in the cars, just like my mom does. The street clears. I dash across.

I look around. The bird is gone. Now what?  Super Pup has failed. I hang my head in shame.

Now, to figure out where I am. I can see the house where I live, but now I’m on the wrong side of the street. What do I do now?

Help.  HELP! Where’s my sister?  Where is my mom? I want my mom!

I sit there in shock, pondering my next move. A car stops and a man gets out, “Hey buddy.  What are doing at the bus stop?”  He picks me up and puts me in his backseat.  There is loud music playing.

A different human is driving. He turns and asks, “Who do you belong to little fella?”

First things first ‘buddy’. I am not a little fella. I’ll have you know I am Super Pup, and I am very much a lady. It appears I have lost my way and need to get across this roadway to get back to my house, my mother and my sister.  Can you help me?

All of my experiences to this point in my short life have proven one thing. Humans either suffer from selective hearing or do not understand dog speak. These good Samaritans apparently did not hear a word I said. The driver pulls away from the curb and starts off down the road. We drive around for what seems like a very long time.  I keep seeing my house, so we haven’t gone far. Dude, you either know where I live, or you don’t.

Suddenly I hear Tanya’s voice. I look out the window and there she is, standing on the sidewalk sobbing. “APPY!  APPY!!!  Appppppyyyyyyyyyyyy!”  She is carrying a large container of treats and shaking it.

Momma!  Momma!!  I’m here!  I’m here!!  I’m in this car.

The car pulls over and my hero steps out. “I think we have your dog!” he says to my near hysterical mother as he opens the back door. 

Tanya drops the container and picks me up.  “Oh Appy!!  What happened?”  Her brown eyes are all puffy and I lick away her salty tears.

Me was on a joy ride, momma!  I wasn’t sure about these guys at first but turns out they are good people.

“We found her across the street sitting by the bus stop.”  He explains.

“Oh my God Appy, how did you cross the street without getting hit by a car?” 

Don’t you humans listen? I am Super Pup!

Tanya profusely thanks the two men for taking care of me and we head back home.  Sambuca meets us at the door.

Where were you? You gave our mom quite a scare!  When Tanya calls you, you are supposed to listen.

Here we go again. I am Super Pup!  I chase large birds and cross busy streets. Get used to it.

Tanya bends down and pulls me into her arms.  “Oh Appy! You were missing in action for over fifteen minutes! (I think she meant to say several hours, possibly days.) You could have been hit by a car when you ran across the road. Don’t ever, EVER do that again!” I look up at her with my ears back and lick her face. I won’t, momma.  At least not today.