Ramblings and Recipes, Part 11 - The Dog

“Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.”
—Franklin P. Jones

Cocker Spaniel’s are so cute.  Who didn’t fall in love with Lady in Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp”?  They have big floppy ears, a cute little nose and those big brown eyes.  Oh wait.  That’s my husband.

Buffy was such an adorable little puppy.  He was always so happy and he was always so excited to see us when we came home.  So excited that he would pee on your shoe the moment you came in the front door. 

I should have known Buffy was going to be a handful from the moment he arrived Christmas morning.  Within the few minutes it took us to get the kids, Buffy had peed on the carpet and torn open several presents.  Sigh.  

But then he would look so sweet and innocent that all would be forgiven.

Unlike most dogs who hate getting a bath, Buffy loved the water so much that it was hard to get him out of the tub.  He would splash and play and splash and play until the entire contents of the tub had relocated to the bathroom floor. 

And during those peaceful moments when I would unwind at the end of the day, a glass of wine in my hand as I would slip into a nice relaxing tub of scented hot water, Buffy would come tearing through the house, pouncing on the bathroom door to jar it open and he would jump into the tub, splashing half the water out onto the bathroom floor and half the wine into the tub.

You don’t need a doorbell when you have a cocker spaniel.  Buffy would start barking when a car would turn onto our street.  He kept us informed of the garbage truck arrival, the mailman getting near, any children riding their bikes down the street and the ice cream truck from four blocks away.

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times we would have to chase that dog down the street to catch him.  Whenever someone opened that front door, he would either pee on your foot or he would sneak around behind you and go tearing out the front door, running happily down the street with tail wagging, ears flopping and his tongue hanging out flapping in the breeze, a look of glee all over face (Or was that my husband?  No, no, it was the dog.)  You had to get in your car and drive down the street.  Then he would come running to you and he would hop in the moment you opened the car door.  The only thing he liked more than running was riding.

A good friend of ours who happened to be one of Rick’s hunting buddies, spent $5,000 on a trained hunting dog.  When the day came to pick up his dog, he drove his Ford pickup truck to our hunting camp in Alabama with his prized new dog nicely crated in the back.  Upon arriving at the camp, he climbed in the back of the truck and opened the door to the dog’s crate, at which time the dog rushed past him, leaped off the tailgate and took off running into the woods, never to be seen again.  For all we know, that dog may still be running.  At least the dog didn’t pee on his foot first.

One day our son, Michael, left his bag of paintballs on the floor of his bedroom and Buffy had eaten an undetermined number of them before we could stop him.  For the next several days his poop was fluorescent orange.

Rick kept saying that the dog was just stupid.  But I knew better.  He could count.  If you put three dog treats in your pocket and then gave two of those treats to Buffy, he would know that you still had one in your pocket.  Smart dog.

CHICKEN AND BRIE PASTRIES

Ingredients:

·       Pre-cooked, boneless, skinless chicken breasts

·       Pillsbury Crescent Rolls

·       Green onions

·       Brie cheese with outer crust removed

·       Fresh Rosemary

·       Egg Yolk

Procedure:

Roll out two triangles of crescent rolls to form a rectangle and press gently to combine.  Cut chicken into ½” cubes and place several cubes in center of rectangle.  Top this with several cubes of brie and ½ tsp. of chopped green onion.  Fold up the corners of the crescent roll to seal shut and form a neat pastry.  Repeat with the remaining crescent rolls, chicken, brie and onions. Place pastries on a non-stick baking sheet and brush the tops with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle with rosemary.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350°F for approximately 15 minutes or until golden brown.