Dogs and Baby Birds

Dear Gavin,

The weather here has been very strange. I do not like thunder. It scares me. A lot. I just want to hide when I hear it. Sometimes there is a flash of light with the thunder. They call this lightning. I am not fond of this, either. As you know, Gramma has my kennel under table beside the couch. It is dark and cozy in there. I have your old shoes in there and Gramma has not attempted to wash them, so I find it very comforting to sniff your smells. I have been sleeping in my kennel at night, because these storms have been happening at night.

One of the storms happened last weekend. The whole weekend was strange, if you ask me. It started with Miss Barb finding some baby birds in the dumpster! She is feeding them while some children are watching. Did you know that birds eat worms? I wonder how they taste .......... Gramma was pretty mad that someone would put these little baby birds in a dumpster. She said it was just plain cruel and inhumane. Does that mean that whoever did it was not a human?

While the birds were eating worms and the children watched, I looked out the window and I saw this dog. Gramma said he was very handsome. He was waiting for his boy and his girl. He didn't even bark! I confess that I barked at him. Oscar joined me at the window and we barked at this dog that Gramma called handsome. Emmy just watched us. She said that it was rude to carry on the way we did. She is such a goody-goody. I was missing my boy and I was jealous of this dog that was handsome and had a boy and a girl.

So, the dog that Gamma said was so handsome went to his campsite with his boy and his girl. Gramma and Miss Barb finished squishing worms into the tiny little birds and finally it was time for Gramma to lock the door to the store. Us dogs like it when we hear the door lock in the store. It means that Gramma and Papa will come in the house and sit down with us. Gramma will hold us and kiss us. She also inspects us for ticks ever since she found that one on my neck.

We all went to bed, but I could not seem to sleep. I kept getting in and out of the bed. Gramma scolded me and told me to make up my mind about my sleeping arrangements, so I retired to my kennel. Everyone was sleeping, except me. There was none of that loud thunder or lightning, but I could hear the wind. It sounded really scary. I could hear stuff blowing around outside. I was scared, so I stayed in my kennel and that is where Gramma found me when she finally got up. She usually gets up really early on Saturdays, but she overslept. She went outside to clean the bathrooms for the campers and she told Papa that the wind had blown the box with the baby birds to the ground. They were still alive and she fed them again. She said that they had pooped. That was a good sign. It meant that everything inside them was working and the worms they ate had been good for them.

Miss Nan and Cooper came to the store to see Gramma. Cooper's eyes got really big when Papa told every body that Mr. Marshell's canoe had flown into Miss Yvonne's fifth wheel! He was shocked to hear that canoes can fly! He is still very young, you know. Now I know what I heard outside while I was hiding in my kennel!

Gramma always holds Cooper and he licks her. Gramma loves little dogs. Gramma loves us dogs here the best, though. She told me so. Us dogs love Gramma and Papa, too. But, of all the people I love ........ I love my boy the most! Don't forget, okay?

Your sleepless dog, Wall-E