Hoover is a Border Collie mix. We think there is some golden retriever in there somewhere, but we can't be sure. He joined our family two years ago. He followed in the large pawprints of our two Labrador retrievers, Carmen and Otto. Carmen lived to the ripe old age of 13 1/2. Otto lived to 14 and change. Now, 15 years of Labs inured me to a basic fact of dog life. Labs eat first and ask questions later. Even after Carmen passed away and Otto was an only dog for two years, he would still inhale his kibbles like there would never be any more. And we had a joke that we didn't need a vacuum cleaner because no food ever hit the floor. The Labs would do a diving catch first.
Hoover, on the other hand, deigns to eat his kibbles only when all other possibilities are exhausted.
And he prefers to take his kibbles out of the kitchen, into the comfort of the family room rug to eat them, several at a time. This means that there is frequently a trail of kibbles left along the way. And being a Border Collie, he's very stubborn about not eating anything once it has hit its expiration date, which in his mind is about 5 minutes after you buy it.
The labs, Otto in particular, were notorious for trying to levitate food off the table. They would sit in front of it and stare at it so hard that they figured it would fall off the table into their waiting mouths. Hoover hasn't the patience, He prefers a more direct approach. When he was young, he used to climb up on the table with all fours and eat the butter. He doesn't do that any more (thank goodness!), but he does whine at food on the counter. Incessantly.
Hoover also believes it is his duty to rid the back yard of all vestiges of the Evil Squirrel Empire. He is glorious to behold as he bounds so prettily over the stone walls and tries to skitter up the trees after the squirrels. The squirrels, on the other hand, get pretty pissed off at this, and they sit there yelling at him while he circles the base of the trees.
Hoover is, of course, also a big Patriots fan:
Oh, and Hoover's favorite food? Sushi, specifically California rolls. He likes to take them into the family room, unroll them, and eat each piece individually. Except the avocado. That he spits out.
Happy puppies!
5 comments:
OMG, that's too funny! I swear, Hoover could be related to my BFF's dog Sandy. Sandy refuses to eat dog food, blech. She grabs people food from the kitchen and eats it on the good sofa in the living room (which is now no longer the good sofa what with all the barbeque sauce stains). Animals! Gotta love 'em.
Okay, I may get committed because of you!
I have been cackling out loud while reading this!
We had a Schipperkee, which is Belgain for "always hungry" and still have a Sheltie. The Schip would eat anything that even smelled like food, wrappers, plastic containers, you name it. Raw celery and raw onions were the only exceptions. He figured out how to get on a chair and then on the table to get at the good stuff. The Sheltie very gingerly takes food from your hand and then goes to lay down on the hearth in the living room to eat it. The only exception is meat, which you have to count all your fingers after giving her.
You can blog about Hoover anytime! One of my past dogs used to always bring his food to the den, living room, wherever we were. He hated to eat alone. Problem was, he tried to bring his whole dish...by picking it up on the far side. He left a little kibble trail, but he always cleaned up after himself! Weiner dogs leave nothing uneaten.
Aww, I'm getting puppy-lust just hearing the stories. Hoover's beautiful, blog about him whenever you like!
Just too cute! And you are right about labs . . . my best friend in the UK just called to tell me that as they were eating dinner the other night, somehow her bridge in the her mouth (the dentist accidentally pulled the wrong tooth - long story for another day - and had to put a bridge in her mouth) fell out as she was eating. Well, it didn't even hit the floor before Tuppence - her black lab wolfed it down - thinking it was food. She now has to get a new bridge - which I think she said is 800 pounds or something like that. My husband - being the real man - said - just "monitor output" and save the money. Sorry. I don't think so! Neither does my friend Nina. Anyway - hope that makes everyone smile. Thanks for the great blog. Hoover is just adorable!
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