I should not have given Tinker, our oldest schnauzer, those tortilla chips yesterday. I took her out early this morning and saw no indication of a problem. She and younger sister Tally were enjoying the 3″ of snow that fell last night. Tinker does not like grass, most likely because of her allergies, so the blanket of snow provided a protective shield for her sensitive paws. Tally was busy digging in the snow and running circles around her, while she was trying to do her business.

An hour after Tinker was back inside our house, she began to bug my wife, fidgeting, shivering, and pacing down the hall. With the cold temperatures outside, my wife put on her Thunder Shirt that tightly hugs her body and provides comfort. We typically put this on in thunderstorms that were frequent when we lived in Austin, Texas, but rarely happen in Portland. As my wife opened the shutters on the sliding doors to the back deck, Tinker immediately went to look out the glass, so she opened the door and let her out. It was another bad case of “Tinkerrhea” (See Posts #370 and #371). My wife was not aware that I fed her chips yesterday, so she was disappointed in my actions, but relieved that it wasn’t something else. I went out later to clean up the mess and thought of this silly poem in honor of the occasion:

 

Deck Check

Before you step,
You need to check.
In venturing out,
On our back deck.

There’s no fenced yard,
Where we live.
So when pups gotta go,
Something has to give.

When weather’s bad,
Or emergency calls.
And dogs starts pacing,
Around our halls.

The only solution,
To get outside.
The sliding door,
Gets opened wide.

There’s no grass,
Just planks of wood.
But in a pinch,
It works real good.

There’s potted plants,
A table and chairs.
One way in or out,
No exit stairs.

A massive grill,
That smells of meat.
So sniffing that,
Is quite a treat.

So open up,
It’s time to go.
Bombs away,
Look out below.

Between the cracks,
A target looms.
With some help,
Let’s hope it blooms.

So watch out,
When you come over.
Dodge the spots,
Left from rover.

Before you step,
You need to check.
In venturing out,
On our poop deck.

Copyright 2018 johnstonwrites.com