Please Remind Me WHY I Wanted a Dog!

I used to brag that I mopped my kitchen floor only two or three times a year.  It's true.  I would occasionally have to wipe up a spot or two, but other than that, it just never needed more than vacuuming.

But NOW, since I got Jackie, it would not be unusual to mop the floor two or three times A DAY!!!

It rained here yesterday and again really hard this morning for about two hours.  Not only did it rain, Jerry has just dumped new top soil in several big areas of our large back yard.   Usually, Jackie can go out when it is wet and come back in, and I just grab the towel I keep by the door and wipe her paws.  She knows to sit and lift them up to me, one at a time.

I have a routine for when Jackie comes in and her feet are real dirty.  I fill a bowl with water.  I put one paw at a time down into the bowl of water -- shake it around a bit -- pull it out of the water into the towel and wipe it off.  You may recall I got Jackie during the snowy season, so she was always coming in with dirty paws.

That wasn't too bad.

But yesterday and today -- the combination of the new top soil and lots of rain -- Jackie came in looking like someone had thrown mud balls at her while making her stand with each paw in a bucket of mud.

Yesterday, Jerry was here when she appeared at the door like that.  We turned on the hose on the patio and just sprayed her off with that.  Tonight, I am here alone.  It didn't seem THAT wet outside since it had not rained since this morning, so I just called Jackie in.  She came running in and landed on the towel just inside the door and got into her "sit down and lift up paws" position.  I looked at paw #1 and was IN SHOCK.  It wasn't just DIRTY, it was CAKED and FILLED IN -- like spackle in holes in a wall -- all over, around and in between her nails and her pads.  Little chunks of mud were falling faster than  I could catch them.

I led her QUICKLY into her room, which is our large laundry room, as she dropped chunk after chunk of little mud balls in a messy trail the whole way in.  There is a sink in there and a pitcher I use to fill water bowls for the cats and Jackie.  I put the drain plug in the sink and began filling it with water.  I grabbed a handful of microfiber rags and threw them in the sink.  I pulled one wet rag out -- gave it a good wring -- and I called Jackie to "come".  She sloooooooooowly walked over to me, not sure WHAT I was going to do.  She got in the "sit and lift paws" position, and I started washing paw #1.  I washed and washed, but it would NOT come clean.  The more I rubbed, the more mud appeared.  I was getting QUITE frustrated as I looked down at the navy blue rugs I had JUST washed a few days ago, now covered with brown water spots, and Jackie could tell.

THEN, I noticed the plastic pitcher on the counter.  I decided to fill the pitcher with water so I could put Jackie's leg down inside it and let the mud and dirt go into the water.  Jackie was off in the corner watching me.  I put the pitcher down on the floor with rag in-hand, and I called her.  "Come to Mama", Jackie.  She looked at me like I was about to stick her face in that pitcher and drown her.  She wasn't budging!

I picked up the pitcher and walked over to her.  I lifted up her leg and stuck it down into the pitcher.  She realized what I wanted to do, so she stood up and let me do it.  The water in the pitcher quickly turned dark brown with streams of dirt dribbling off Jackie's leg.  I had to do that at least 3 times per leg -- with new water each time -- before it quit turning dark brown.  Then I had to do her face and her tummy and her behind!  By now, everything in the room had dirty brown water splashed on it!

I'm thinking of going to Amazon.com and ordering a bathtub to put in the back yard.  Only problem with that is, I couldn't lift her 50 pounds into it, and I doubt she would volunteer to do it herself.

You should have seen the floor in the laundry room and in the kitchen after that fiasco.  Of course, the new miracle mop and bucket were already there from yesterday when I had to clean her up.  I then vacuumed and mopped the path from back door to laundry room for the THOUSANDTH TIME since I got Jackie!

Soooooooooo, if I had known THEN what I know NOW, would I still have gotten this dog???

I sure would!

I wouldn't trade her for a pot of gold!






Hugs, Joy