Maybe She Likes It- An Ode to Doodle

When my husband & I got married more than 11 years ago, we discussed getting a dog together. I convinced him, with my love of mutts, to save a dog. If we got a rescued dog, we wouldn’t contribute to irresponsible breeders or puppy mills. It would be cheaper & give us as much love, or more. I’m convinced that rescued dogs know they are rescued & are grateful.

We lived in a 2-bedroom townhouse at the time & were expecting our 1st child. I thought it was better to get any training & behavioral issues controlled before the baby came. We were looking for a medium-sized dog, around 40 lbs. We walked through the rows of cages with dog after dog excited to see us. The shelter employee noticed my 5 months pregnant belly & said they had a dog that was known to love being with children, but she was a little larger than what we were looking for….we asked how much larger. Turns out, she was only 55 pounds. They guessed her to be about a year old. She came out of the cage & promptly laid down on my husband’s feet, belly up. It was adorably pink & bald as she still had her stitches from being spayed. He says now that he thought she was being submissive but if only he’d known she was commanding him, “Rub my belly!” Ha!

We visited her once more before we were allowed to adopt her. She became our Doodledogg. I absolutely adore her. She was curious but gentle & loving toward our baby when she was born. She was patient with the toddler pulling hair & using her as a step stool. When we had our 2nd child, the dog looked at our new bundle of joy & with an abundance of attitude almost spoke aloud, “Oh, another one,“ as she turned away & largely ignored her until the child was walking & talking.

Doodle grew to almost 85 pounds through the years & is still pretty healthy at over 12 years. As I made up songs to sing to my children, because I sing when I'm happy (or maybe I just I warble out of tune words) Doodle always seemed to get a kick out of it. Somewhere along the years as my children appreciated my singing less, I started singing to my dog instead.

So maybe I'm a bit offbeat…. to the final Jeopardy tune- - Doo-dle, Doo-dle, Doo-dle, Doo-dle, Doo-dle, Doo-dle, Doo-doo-Doodledoggy…. & on & on…
I sing the circus theme- - Doo Doo Doodle Doodle Doodledoggy, Boo Boo Bootie Bootie Doodlebootie….
I sing My Darling Clementine- - Oh my Doodle, oh my Doodle, oh my darlin’ Doodledogg….
There’s All Around the Mulberry Bush, but it goes like this- - All around the living room, Doodle chased the laser, Doodle thought it was all in fun, ‘til she figured out where it was coming from…

I never said they all fit perfectly. I make them up as I go along… Dorkorama...& she sings to me too. It's kind of ridiculous. It's more of a yodel really. I mean there are no words! But just as a baby has different cries, Doodle sings different & distinct songs. There's the anxious, agitated one for the mail or any type of delivery. There is the soft, sweet one that begs, "Please may I have your dinner?" There is a slightly more persistent one to tell me that I haven't put away dinner left-overs yet & she would be happy to take care of that for me. There is another to let me know when another animal is in the vicinity...deer, cats & other dogs get much more attention than squirrels, chipmunks, geese or ducks. Bunnies may or may not get a free pass.

Doodle doesn't do a lot of barking, but the mail song can get pretty lively. I usually try to calm her down with a little Karen Carpenter: Sing, sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong. Sing of good things not bad. Sing of happy not sad. Sing, sing a song. Make it simple to last your whole life long. Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... Just sing, sing a song. La la la la la La la la la la la... Sing, sing a song. Let the world sing along. Sing of love there could be. Sing for you and for me....

And that's my motto when it comes to singing. I know I'm not good, but Doodle doesn't care. It makes us happy, so we continue: What would you think if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up & walk out on me? Lend me your ears & I'll sing you a song, & I'll try not to sing out of key. Oh I get by with a little help from my Boo, Mmm, I get high with a little help from my Dood, Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my daw-aw-aw-awg.... (All apologies to John, Paul, George & Ringo for the massacre of their song.)

While my children grow older & don’t want to sit on my lap & cuddle anymore, I’m grateful for Doodle, the oxymoron of perpetual puppy & crotchety old lady who still lies at my feet. I know she loves me. She tells me so every time she doggy-hugs me throughout the day. She leans into me, or more often than that, pushes her head into me. The harder she pushes her head, the tighter the hug would be if she were capable. Then she flops down & commands me, “Rub my belly!” & I never mind.

I tell ya, sometimes she’s so darn cute lying there that I look at her & burst into song. She opens her eyes & thumps the tip of her tail. If I stop, so does the tail. I suppose it could be wishful thinking on my part, but I also think maybe she likes it.


****Update****
On 2/26/2012, my beloved Doodledogg left this world. She took a bad fall & her ability to stand & walk decreased hourly & we had to hand feed her & carry her to the vet where the decision was made that she could not recover. They suspect it was a brain tumor & I'm happy to say that in nearly 14 years, she was playful right up 'til the end. She only had 2 hard days. I will miss her terribly.

Someone said to me, "That's the thing about dogs. They are awesome, but they are going to break your heart in 10-15 years."