I’M BEING NAGGED TO DEATH!

Having grown up with four (4) sisters, being the only boy in the flock, a mother, a grandmother and a few aunts, not to mention girl cousins, I know what it is like to have women around. Then to add icing to the cake, I got married, had a daughter, a mother-in-law, and a few sister-in-laws. None of them, and I mean none, do to me what one female cocker spaniel does. The dog is a nag!

‘Happy’ starts early in the morning, about 3:30, 4:00 a.m., and doesn’t stop until I retire at night. She is a watchdog, watching my every move, hoping to eat and makes sure I can’t pass her without having to trip first.

A sleeping sentinel, she jealously guards my studio, sleeping at the entrance, nose on the ready, in case I try to eat something. She will look at me as I begin to bite, staring and at the ready. Sitting on her haunches, she makes me feel guilty.

Every morning, she bounds up the stairway, and finds me in my studio. Sitting at my feet, she demands a snack or treat. Her eyes in anticipation, she looks. At 4:30 p.m., she starts in again. Lettuce is her thing. She nudges me in the hand. Pouncing around my feet, she barks at me. Running up and down the room, she gets excited, waiting for me to give her some of the green stuff.

During the course of the day, about 50 times an hour, she has to pee. She goes to the back door, and rings a little bell at the base of the door. This is to alert us to her having to go. She hits it with her pore, then stares at me, as if to say: “WELL! Let’s go, get up and let me out!”

God forbid I should use the toilet, or be behind a closed door, she barks at me! Yes, she is yelling at me! “What’s going on behind that door, you eating something on me?”

All day long, she follows me around the house, if I sit to eat lunch; she is at my feet, like an orphan waiting for a handout from a stranger.

Dinner is no exception, and finally, after the day is done, as I sit at my computer to check my email, she sits at my feet, for her bed-time snack!

I hate her, and hope she lives forever. When she is no longer with us, I will miss her, but meanwhile I hate her.

Please remember My Man Bill, and my Brother-in-law, and all those that need our prayers.