Good night from Oliver and me

It's 11:27 p.m. as I write this under the inspiration of the last frenetic hour of finishing Sonny Brewer's "Cormac," his book about his dog. If you're a "dog person," get hold of that book now. I guarantee that, for at least the last half of the book, as Sonny tells his first-person tale of his search for his lost dog, you will be flipping pages forward at a record pace, reading like the wind, as you hurry from page to page, anxious to see if the next page is the one on which he is reunited with Cormac, his red retriever.

My daughter and grandson have been away since yesterday morning, having fled the coop in favor of Rochester to visit my daughter's twin sister and her husband and two girls for a few days leading up to Christmas Eve. So it's been Oliver as my only company here at home in Vermillion, S.D. Oliver is a German shepherd, but he is white with big, beautiful brown eyes. As I compose this post at the computer in the kitchen, he is up on the living room couch, snoozing but ever alert in case he hears the slightest noise which would indicate I am changing rooms.

Oliver is too big to be a lap dog, but he considers himself to be one. He is mild-mannered, coming up with a bonafide bark only when something greatly perturbs him such as the sense that a dog to be reckoned with is passing by the house out on the front sidewalk along Main Street. Oliver lets Dylan, age 3 years, 3 months, use him as a horse. He chases balls and snowballs with equal enthusiasm. He is a dear dog who deserves a little space on this blogsite, not only right after I read a "dog book" but all of the time.

Oliver's presence restricts my activities somewhat. I guess he saves me money in the long run because of the travels I do not take because of him. I can't take him along to any of the relatives' places, and I can't be gone out of town for very many hours because of Oliver. It's too cold this time of year to tie him up outside, and if he's inside for very long, even restricted to the basement, he'll need to relieve himself down there or will decide it's time to chew something. On rare occasion, such as from Christmas Eve morning to the afternoon of Dec. 26, Oliver will have to reside at the kennel at the local veterinary clinic. He'll get good care there because Oliver is one of their favorite boarders, but because of Oliver, I won't be gone longer than 48 hours, even if it does cost something like only $13 per night for him to stay at the kennel.

I'd like to hear about your dog, present or past. Good night from Oliver and me.