The Dog Days of Summer

My two dogs, Zippy and Slider, are acting very strange right now. There is nothing untoward happening in our house - no loud noises, no strange odors (except for them!), no bright lights, nada. However, since I arrived back to the manse this morning after chauffeuring Miss Peanut to Summer Camp, they have been all but glued to my side.

I was working on the couch this morning, fingers whirring on the laptop keys, and Zippy kept encroaching upon my personal space. After shoving him down on the sofa about five times, I finally ordered him off. Very reluctantly, he complied, only to spring back up again a minute later. "Hmmm" thought I, "this is an interesting development."

Arising to visit the bathroom, I was trailed by my two furry beasties all the way up the stairs. Now, my house is old, and my bathroom door doesn't completely shut. You kind of have to wedge it in place and hope that nobody barges in on you. Since I was the only human in the house, I didn't bother wedging it down, figuring I'd be left in peace. WRONG! I don't know how they do it, but two smallish corgis can turn into an ankle swarm. Fierce orders of "OUT! OUT!" unheeded, they crowded my legs until I had to arise from my semi-recumbent posture and, in an ignominious waddle, panties about my calves, shoo them out and wedge the door.

Business transacted, I began putting on my makeup - I have to go out later, otherwise I wouldn't normally bother with makeup in the summer - only to hear the insistent brush of fur against the bathroom door, coupled with some soft whining. Oh, curse my soft, soft heart. I let them in, only to be subjected to the ankle swarm again. Once my brows and lashes were darkened and my lips deemed suitably glossy, we all paraded downstairs again.

We traipsed from room to room, looking for oddities, listening for anomalies. Zilch. We all sniffed in unison, perhaps to detect something that didn't belong. Nope, just dog. Is it a ghost? Is it a gas leak?

Stay tuned...