It must be morning; I’m hungry.
Then again, I’m always hungry, so it could really be any time.
I can hear the shower and feel the sun on my back, so I’m guessing the Boss is awake.
I lift my head off my bed and look down the passage.
I want a shower too.
Sometimes I try and get in but he won’t let me.
Boring.
He’s not so happy in the mornings any more.
He used to be, but things have changed.
I think it’s stress.
Not really sure what that is, but I know it’s not good.
It’s a human thing.
I’ve heard him talk about it on the phone.
Don’t really know what a phone is either, but I know they’re good to chew.
Chewing’s one of my favourite things.
In the old days we wrestled every morning.
He’d pull my ears and I’d jump on his head.
These days, not so much.
Before he went to work, we’d play ball.
After work too.
He’d throw, I’d fetch.
He’d throw, I’d fetch.
Forever.
What an amazing game.
Such fun.
He’d laugh and talk human. I’d growl.
I’d laugh if I could.
Mostly, I’d just wag my tail.
I think it’s sad that humans don’t have tails.
Sometimes he’d lose focus, so I would nudge him.
Maybe a little nip on the hand just to keep his head in the game.
How much fun can one Golden Retriever and one human have?
But lately he seems grumpy.
Sometimes, I wonder if he still loves me.
I lick him anyway because he’s my favourite human in the world.
I get so excited to see him.
When he hugs me, my tail wags all by itself.
I wonder why my kisses don’t make him happy like they used to.
In the good old days, we would walk to the park every day.
We’d hang out with other dogs and humans.
I mostly played with Kelvin the fat Labrador and the Boss would laugh with Kelvin’s human; a female who smelled like vanilla.
I licked her once.
She didn’t taste so good.
We don’t walk together much these days.
And when we do, he talks on the phone.
I hate that phone.
I’m gonna eat it when he’s not looking.
I liked it more when we lived in the first house.
The little one.
Three houses ago.
He played with me the most in that house.
I loved that place.
He was happier and he didn’t yell at me for getting on the couch.
Or chewing his shoes.
We used to watch TV together on the couch every night.
Well, I slept, he watched.
He would rest his hand on my head.
I like that.
Now we live in a big house, with a big stupid couch.
A stupid couch for humans only.
Not dogs.
I don’t like the big house or the big couch.
He makes me stay down on the stupid slippery polished floor boards.
The other day I slid into the table and hurt my nose.
Stupid floor boards.