It came as a shock to me when my calendar popped up that August 1 is our sleek black weenie dog mix, Vlassic’s “birthday!” Only a year ago, Sara saw something strange on her picnic table and called me over to get my new dog.
We never saw any posts looking for him, which is good, since he crawled immediately into our hearts. He’s my faithful companion who travels back and forth between Austin and Cameron every week with me. He sleeps next to (or on) me every night, and spends a lot of his waking time on my lap.
Luckily he spreads his love to other people’s laps, often unannounced. He has caused many beverages to spill. But when he rolls over and stretches out for a belly rub, you can’t be angry.
He loves his canine friends a lot, too, though he has to occasionally remind them he’s small. His little jaw snaps repeatedly when he’s wrestling with Carlton or Harvey. And when Penney joins in, it’s glorious. We humans just have to smile.
Vlassic’s two favorite hobbies are running around in circles and flopping into any available water container. This includes his water dish, because we have a large one.
Sleeping is his next hobby. He likes to curl up with Pickle in the office beds while Anita is working. The car is another beloved sleeping space. He just squishes down into his smelly blanket and snoozes until he can tell he’s almost home. He knows both places.
Flaws? Has he any?
Why yes. He pees on his own feet sometimes. Yesterday he peed on Pickle. She got a bath.
And there are some dogs and people he takes a while to warm up to. We haven’t figured out any pattern to it, either. He just barks. I guess it’s just like with people. Sometimes you just have to get to know folks.
We look forward to many more hours watching Vlassic zoom through fields, pausing to pounce on bugs or mice. And many years of enjoying his hot-water-bottle warmth in winter (less great this time of year).
Thanks to whoever didn’t want this great little soft and shiny guy and dumped him at our ranch neighbors’ house! He is my dream doggie.
The Hermits' Rest 