SnowDog Zelda and the Snowicane of 2010

7 AM – Snowdog Zelda wakes up from a dream about finally catching a squirrel. Her snowdoggy senses are tingling. She cocks an ear and lifts her nose. Yes, she is almost sure of it. She steps on her sleeping mistress’s chest in an attempt to rouse her.

9:30 AM Snowdog Zelda has been assessing the situation. Through the closed back door she can feel it. Not to mention what she feels in her bladder. She begins sighing and groaning in her mistress’s face. Finally she stirs! Snowdog Zelda jumps back on the bed, pawing at her mistress with joy.

9:45 AM – Snowdog Zelda bursts through the door, straining at her collar. When she hears the click of her chain and her mistress steps back, she bounds into the snow drifts, leaping them like a kid jumping waves at the beach. She races to the tree and looks up – could there be a squirrel there? Hard to tell with the snowdoggy senses on full alert. She hops across the yard to check under the shed – any cats hanging around? But she is distracted by the snowflakes that are falling on her and she chases them to the ground.

9:55 AM – Snowdog Zelda is in stealth mode, sitting very close to the deck, watching the yard. Suddenly, a bird flies across the yard and she is off like a bullet, barking and leaping into the air. At the end of her chain, her paws churn in the snow and she forgets about the bird and chases the snowballs she has kicked up.

10 AM – The mistress has had enough of the sound of barking. Zelda feels a tug on her chain and immediately runs full speed through the deepest snow drift, covering herself with snow. Finally, she heads for the door. Inside she stands impatiently while huge globs of snow are removed from her specially engineered snowdog feet. Then, she gallops off to the living room and settles into her bed, breathing in the lovely aroma of wet dog.

10:05 AM – Snowdog Zelda’s snowdoggy senses are again tingling. Could it be there is still snow outside? Or is she sensing something else? Something very basic, but very urgent? Snowdog Zelda realizes her bladder is still full. She finds her mistress in the kitchen still mopping up and starts the “take me out” dance all over again. The mistress rolls her eyes. But Snowdog Zelda’s powers are strong. Once more she bounds out the door into the snowdrifts. She remembers there was something important she was supposed to do, but, look at this, squirrel tracks in the snow! Snowdog Zelda launches into full snowdog tracking mode, burying her face in the snow and then emerges, barking furiously.

Her mistress sighs. It’s going to be a long, snowy day.