I was reminded of the funniest story . . . concerning a little Pekingese dog was had years ago.
The first dog we ever had was a little poodle type dog, and her name was Lucy. I was little, so I don't remember much about her, but after she died, my sister and I always thought the song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," by Elton John, was written about her . . . you know because all dogs go to heaven!
Our next dog, Chow Ming, was a Pekingese, and he was so cool . . . except when he was left alone at the house. I remember Dad rubbing his poor little nose in his mess every time we came home from somewhere . . . THAT lesson never sunk in for the dog!
We went on vacation once . . . were gone for 30 days . . . poor Chow Ming missed us so much he quit walking. The people we left him with were so worried about him too. Dad, of all people, did some improvised physical therapy with him though, and he did learn to walk again.
Auntie M with Chow Ming |
We didn't get our next dog until we moved to Tennessee . . . Ming Tu came into our lives then! When you look back at pictures of Chow Ming, you see an almost "show dog" quality . . . he was beautiful. Chow Ming was, I think, the runt of the litter . . .
Me and Auntie M with Ming Tu |
I think your Auntie M was the runt as well . . . I look like a monster beside her!
One of the funniest things I remember about this still dog was that he LOVED cheese . . . and I mean L.O.V.E.D it. No matter what he was doing, you could just say "Cheese!" and he'd stop dead in his tracks . . . even if he were running. That's not my whole story, so bear with me for a minute.
We couldn't trust him for a minute . . . when he went outside he'd take off and run, so we got to the point, if he wasn't on a leash, we'd hook him to a small chain that was attached to a tree. Crazy dog would walk around the tree until the chain was wrapped so tight he'd just be stuck. Dad came up with a plan: attach his small chain to a 6 foot piece of logging chain . . . no way Ming Tu could move that! If you've never seen a logging chain, the links are HUGE, and it's heavy!
I'll get that piece of chain weighed 25 or 30 pounds!!
So, we'd put the dog out . . . attached to this huge chain . . . THAT would solve the tree problem AND the running thing, right?!? (And don't worry . . . or call the ASPCA . . . we never left him out there for days on end . . . my sister always had him in her arms . . . he had the luxury of sleeping with us at night too)
Not!
Ming Tu learned that if he pulled and pulled and pulled . . . somehow manage to drag the chain to the sidewalk and then to asphalt . . . then freedom would be his. After all, it doesn't take much energy to drag a chain across asphalt . . . no matter how heavy it was.
Yeah, he was smarter than we gave him credit.
The day he discovered this, we were distraught . . . he'd vanished. We went to look for him, and found him just a house away . . . stuck at the bottom of the hill in the yard . . . because he was in the grass. He looked at us like we'd ruined his day!
From then on, we kept a closer eye on him.
Then one day, right before my eyes, he took off like a shot . . . I ran in to get some cheese and the chase was on! By the time I got back out he'd run straight down our road . . . chain bouncing wildly behind him . . . moving as fast as his little legs would carry him. I gave chase, and as I got closer, I yelled "Cheese!" . . . he came to screeching halt . . . the chain did not . . .
Poor dog . . . let out this horrible yelp when the chain slid past him and pulled his little chain tight around his neck . . . his little body whipping around from the momentum of it all.
Guess he really deserved that piece of cheese after all.
If you're wondering about this breed . . . they originated in China . . . are referred to as Lion Dogs . . . because they resemble the Chinese guardian lions . . . and they're fearless!
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