api
and
A Slice of Cheese
Edward M Jordan
Copyright © 2013 by Edward M. Jordan, all rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781301740260
Dedication
This book is dedicated to Lily who has been a great friend, and who gave me the opportunity to meet and care for two great dogs that are the inspiration for this story. To my parents for showing me the selflessness and need to care for animals that cannot care for themselves. And to Rudy & Papi – two of the most loving little Dachshunds that God has provided to us. They have brought great joy to all that have met them.
Introduction
It was a nice sunny day in Michigan, USA, when little Rudy woke up ready for a full day of play. He was an 8-week-old Dachshund puppy. He didn’t know his name yet, but none of that really mattered. This was the day he was going to be adopted, and this was the day two lives (and eventually three) would change forever.
Lily woke up that fine sunny Saturday day as well and drove to the home of a nice couple that, just as chance would have it, had a young Dachshund puppy for adoption. She wanted a reddish colored shorthaired Dachshund and finally found one. She and Rudy were about to meet for the first time. She had no idea what this little one-pound baby-boy puppy would be like or to what extent he would change her life. He was no bigger than a coffee mug yet so full of life. She was thrilled.
Three years passed by and little Rudy grew into a 20-pound black-and-tan adult. What happened to the reddish colored suit you ask? Well, Rudy had apparently changed tailors and is now sporting a more formal look thanks to Mother Nature. Lily didn’t mind one bit. The two had their daily schedules: she would get out of bed and get ready for work. Meanwhile, Rudy would cautiously work his way into the morning and that generally meant that he was tucked into bed with his head comfortably resting on the pillow. Some days he would stay at home by himself while other days were spent at the Doggy Day Care where he would meet new friends and play between his naps – boy did he LOOOOVE naps (still does), especially in the sun. Lily didn’t like having to leave him alone, but sometimes this was necessary because of work.
One day while on the computer Lily began browsing through an adoption site for Dachshunds. The website she clicked-on was for a Dachshund Rescue. A Dachshund Rescue is a place where people could take their “Weiner Dog” that was young or old, sick or healthy, that they could no longer afford to keep or love anymore. All the care provided to the dogs would come from people who would donate their precious time and effort out of love. Looking at the pictures of the dogs made Lily very sad. She couldn’t help but think how people could stop loving these little creatures once they became a member of the family. She began to think that Rudy should have a brother who would also be his playmate during the day. Then she thought that maybe she should help one of these ‘homeless’ dogs. As luck would have it, she found one!
And so arrived little ‘Papi’. He was no bigger than Rudy as a puppy and actually a little smaller at first. Papi, when fully grown, would weigh only 10lbs – half as much as Rudy. Because of this he is considered to be a ‘Toy Dachshund’, and due to his three colors he is described as a ‘Dapple’. That’s a lot of description for a 10lb doggy!! But Rudy didn’t care. He was excited he had a new brother to play with. Rudy knew he was just a baby and would have to be gentle with him until he grew bigger. “I wonder what he will be like?” thought Rudy. He would soon find out the answer to his own question!
Little Papi grew quickly. He loved to run and chase imaginary creatures around the house, small lizards and frogs in the backyard, and play with Rudy’s tail. The two would do all sorts of dog play together: tug-of-war, chase, hide-and-seek, run, jump and dig, dig, dig, dig, and dig some more! Digging was a Dachshund trademark and something they were especially good at. They were boys after all and that’s what young boys do. In 17th Century Europe the breed was used for hunting and chasing game out of holes and digging their way into the den of the prey. The two boys were no exception. They were good at it!
As the two boys bonded together over the years each one had distinct characteristics that went beyond just physical looks. The most apparent was size at first, but in time Lily could see how different each was emotionally. She wasn’t the only one to notice. Rudy could tell how he was different from Papi, and Papi could tell how he was different from Rudy. Neither of the boys had ever mentioned this to the other, but at times each was jealous of the others size, or strength, or color, or what toy was given to whom and who was playing with what toy at that particular moment; ‘Did he just get a bigger treat than me?’ ‘Hey, I was going to play with that squeaky toy when I saw you pick it up’, ‘I get to sit on her lap this time’, It’s my turn to be picked up again’, ‘You got to ride in the front seat the last time.’ and so on.
Lily would also notice this interaction between the two and was careful not favor one over the other. One of the funnier ways that the boys communicated to her was by tail position. She learned that certain positions meant certain things. This was similar to what people do with their eyes, hands and facial expressions:
-Wagging fast: Happy
-Wagging slow: Still Happy
-Wagging in circles: Incredibly Happy
-Tail straight up: At attention (usually for cheese or treats)
-Tail fully down: suspected of doing something and got caught
-Tail straight up, bent over just a bit at the top: going somewhere to instigate or investigate something
-‘S’ shaped: potty
So many positions to list but each had a definite meaning.
So now that we know a little about the boys’ lives, how they became a family and their ongoing competitive nature, let’s peer into the house and yard to see what they are doing today.
A Slice of Cheese
On this particular day, all the waking up, potty breaks, meals and treats, lounging, stretching and sunbathing were right on schedule. The weather was a bit cooler as fall was pushing itself into South Florida and Rudy wanted to get right outside and enjoy it.
“No better way to enjoy the day than digging outdoors!” thought Rudy. With the speed of a Manatee he wiggled his way through the doggy-door and sniffed out his favorite spot that was right in the soft soil of the flowerbed. Perfect!
Inside, Papi heard the familiar sound of a four-footed excavation starting and ran to join in.
“I’ll bet you a slice of cheese that I can dig a bigger and deeper hole than you”, said Papi.
“There is no way that you can. I am stronger and have bigger paws than you”, replied Rudy. And with that statement so began the challenge between the boys.
Dig, dig, dig, dig, dig…push, push, push, push, push….dig, dig, dig, dig, and dig. The dirt was flying everywhere. Quickly both were out of sight of each other except for the tips of their tails as the dirt began to pile high behind them. Lower, and lower, and lower they went until they began to tire and realize just how deep they had dug.
“Papi, are you still digging? I can’t see out of my hole.” woofed Rudi.
“Yes, I’m pretty deep too. Let me jump out and look around,” answered Papi. As good a jumper as he was, he was barely able to get out of his hole. And he was a much better jumper than Rudy.
Rudy, with his big paws and laser-like focus on the task at hand, had dug really, really deep. He couldn’t get out. He was a true ‘sausage’ dog, which meant that moving in a vertical direction was not his best skill. The big bright sun was inching closer to the horizon.
“Papi, I can’t jump out. Can you help me?” asked Rudy.
Rather than being competitive and ma
king fun of Rudy, Papi realized that this wasn’t the time or the place for that and went to look for Lily. After all, this was his brother and best friend and Rudy needed his help.
Papi ran through the house jumping up on all the beds to check for Lily in case she was napping. He jumped up on all of the furniture and looked everywhere but nobody was home. He woofed and woofed in the deep tone that Lily knew meant something was wrong, but there was no answer in the empty house. Little Papi pulled open the door leading into the garage and noticed that THE CAR WAS GONE! “She must have thought we were sleeping and went to the store for more cheese treats”, thought Papi. But Rudy still needed help.
Papi ran back outside and yelled down to Rudy, “Nobody is home and the car is gone. I’m going to have to see if the neighbors are home.”
“But there is no way out of the yard”, said Rudy. “You are