Crazy dog on the loose

Nittany, our 13-year-old Lhasa Apso – Bichon Frise, whines. I try to calm her by rubbing her ears, but she returns my love with her big questioning eyes that ask why I’m not letting her down onto the floor. She wants to know who is at the door. 

When we have a delivery from Amazon or Fed Ex or a worker comes to the house to work on our furnace or central air conditioning, Nittany wants in on the action. If we’d let her, she’d be barking and yapping steps away from the worker. Oh, I’m sure every plumber, electrician, and home worker knows exactly who we are, our house is probably number one on the list of homes to be avoided.

So, like today, we needed our furnace checked and my wife let the worker into our house, and I stayed in the bedroom with Nittany. I tried to work but found myself spending more time calming her. I pet her and rub her and a second later she would be on all fours facing the door, ready to jump down, somehow find a way to open the door, and race downstairs to check out the worker for herself.

She kept looking back at me upset at me for being a traitor. I got images of famous traitors Judas Iscariot and Benedict Arnold in my head. You would have thought I was keeping her away from a good bone. She whined. She panted. She threatened to jump from high off the bed, but stopped each time, scared of the height. 

Finally, my wife came into the room to tell me that the worker had left. I swear to God I heard Nittany shout, “Hallelujah, praise the Lord.” Okay, maybe not, but she was still happy to have her freedom and run downstairs to make sure the guy had left for good and wasn’t thinking about coming back.

Yes, I agree Nittany, Hallelujah!