Sunflowers are just beginning to bloom at Lake Walcott -- Photo by Pat Bean
“Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend.” Corey Ford
Travels With Maggie
Thought I’d interrupt my past African Safari today to visit the present, which finds me at Lake Walcott State Park in southern Idaho.
I wanted to tell you that the Canada goose kids have all grown up now, sunflowers are finally blooming, and that I had a marvelous day on the lake with a couple of starving artists (so they said, but their fancy boat said otherwise), who were staying at the park between art shows, and finally to complain about my faithful companion.
Nuff said about everything but Maggie, a black cocker spaniel who thinks I’m her servant. I rescued her from a life of abuse when she was a year old and we’ve now been together for 12 years. She went from being afraid of her shadow to becoming Queen of my world.
And butterflies accompany Maggie and me on our walks. -- Photo by Pat Bean
For example: This past Wednesday, I went into town to do laundry, something that has to be done every two weeks if I want to wear clean underwear. Since I’m a volunteer at the park, I’m allowed to use a small park truck for the trip. And since I don’t get into town often, I treated myself to a Swiss cheese burger with grilled onions and a chocolate mile shake.
I drank the shake and ate half the burger on the drive back to the park, saving the other half of the big sandwich for dinner. Back at my RV I transported the leftover sandwich and a few other things into my RV, then went back out to bring in my clean laundry.
By the time I got back, Maggie had climbed up on my table, took the sandwich out of a paper sack, and then out of its cardboard container and was licking her chops. Not a crumb of the sanding was left.
I yelled, but she didn’t even blink. In fact the look that she gave me said: “Do you have any more.”
And Maggie is not the least bit repentant for eating my sandwich. -- Photo by Pat Bean
I gave her dirty looks for the rest of the day. She, simply, hopped up on to my bed, and gave me unrepentant stares. I mean take a look at that face. Does it look apologetic to you?
I think she’s more cat than dog.
Pat Bean's blog 
Nice blog today. A change of pace from the hyper-exotic of the past weeks. AL
It obviously wasn’t YOUR sandwich! Maggie knows best…
We had black cockers when I was a kid. They sure are comical. Sooty was my best friend for a long time. When we first got her, she was afraid of men. My dad would lie on his back on the floor with a piece of meat in his mouth to get her to come to him. She finally got so she would go to him, but she still like us girls the best.
Interesting because Maggie prefers women too, although she’ll go to men and she does have a few favorites. She’ll allot only about 30 seconds to greetig most everybody, but if she likes you she wants to rub her scent all over you and claim you. My first dog was a cocker mix that I named Blackie. Maggie is probably the smartest dog I ever owned, and uses her brains for mischief. And I love her dearly.
Keep writing … Pat Bean https://patbean.wordpress.com
I love the way a dog looks at you with that innocent “what?” look when they laying smack in the middle of a path of destruction they created.
lol! Yes, I think she looks more cat-like than dog in terms of that facial expression.
When you’re hungry, you’re hungry. When manna falls from heaven, you eat it and lick your chops.
The votes have been coming in and they’re all in favor of Maggie. i don’t think eveyone knows how I spoil her. I always scramble an extra egg for her when I make an omelet for myself. And she gets lots of good treats. And I even would have shared the sandwiich with her. She’s such a brat.
Keep writing … Pat Bean https://patbean.wordpress.com