The girls and I came home from a hike in the wash, the other day, and even though it wasn’t hot, they were thirsty. I usually carry a hydration pack, and they are adept at drinking from the nipple, (yes, we all share the same nipple) but this hike was short so I had left the cumbersome pack behind.
Hoping to prevent a swamp around the indoor water bucket, I encouraged them to drink before we came in the house. But, of course, one stop at the fountain wasn’t sufficient to slake their thirst, and they topped off in the kitchen. My partner BikeMike, a most skillful grumbler, griper, grouser, and growler, began a tirade about the mess. Now, before you take his side in this earth-shattering debate, let me plead my case.
When said partner first joined my pack, we were just me and the love of my life, Studley Dude (a Maine Coon cat who seemed half cat, half dog), and a couple of other cats who had adopted me as their staff. He was informed that should he have any idea of being higher in the household hierarchy than Studley Dude, he might as well not move in. He readily agreed, being as how he had already developed more affection for my cats than for me, and like them, saw me more as staff than was warranted by my opinion that I was the pack leader.
But I digress. Shortly after settling in, he installed a dishwasher and a new kitchen floor, white, ceramic tile. I know you’re asking who would put white tile anywhere, much less on a kitchen floor?! But I wanted to have a CLEAN kitchen. About ten years later, I decided that clean was highly overrated. So, when we remodeled, I chose a dirt colored floor. Aside from vacuuming up the dog hair, it requires no maintenance. I’m only half kidding. It gets cleaned around the water bucket about twice a day! But seriously, the two dogs clean up anything that’s spilled on the floor and the vacuum gets the rest. As a matter of fact, since we got dogs, the dishwasher is almost superfluous.
judyrutrider 
Your dog drinks put of your hydration pack? That’s cool. I like your dirt swirl flooring; I have white tile in my kitchen. There are always little puddles by the dog bowl. Tailor (who passed away last summer, God rest his soul) loved to fill his jowls with water and dribble it from the bowl to however far he got when his supply ran out. Like Hansel and Gretel, making sure he could find his way back if he got thirsty. Our cat Peaches is the family Alpha. I caught him staring at me while I was sleeping, thinking up ways to wake me to get him his breakfast. It was creepy.
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I had a big Maine Coon who would knock things off the headboard to awaken me. The leaded glass lamp was the final straw. I suppose one might question why anyone who lives in earthquake country would put heavy objects on the headboard and I would reply, the same one who would install white tile in the kitchen.
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LOL. Guess you like to live dangerously.
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What a funny post, Judy.
You live in a dog kingdom where you are the Queen . And how happy you are to have those precious dooggies that clean your kitchen soil
And what about the cats ? No more Maine coon in sight ? š
My oldest daughter has a young Maine Coon that is always scotched to the dogs such a Australian Shepherd without any problem!
Love ā¤
Michel
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Oh, of course we have cats, four at present. The most recent addition, a tuxedo kitten who loves the dogs. She wraps her arms around my Border Collie and chews on her ears. Molly, the BC tolerates it to a certain point. I would love to have another Maine Coon but I NEVER go in search of pets; they always find me. Lately the adopted kids have been predominantly black and white.
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The Tuxedo kitten behavior with Molly is the same as my daughter ‘ s Maine Coon .Funny!
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You can’t help but admire those cheeky ones.
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“…loved to fill his jowls with water and dribble it from the bowl to however far he got when his supply ran out.” I have owned many of that dog, in 2s and 3s, for the last 40+ years. Irish Setters don’t drink, they dunk their noses and leave a slip hazard drool trail for 10 or 12 feet. However, it makes throwing some more water down and mopping a lot easier. Further – after any sort of gathering, and with onlookers, my father would be sure to let the dog lick the plates before he’d put them back in the cabinet… My brother and I got to wash them for real after.
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I would absolutely love your dad! But, knowing little boys, I doubt the dishes got a very thorough post-dog washing cleaning anyway.
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Love it! Separate but equal bowls for cats and dogs, Studley Dude, kitchen tiles, hikes and all! Wow! So homey!
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Yup, we’re a homey bunch here. We have just enough domestic squabbles to keep life interesting. Mike says if I really loved him, I’d admit that everything was my fault, but then I fear he would grow bored.
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Funny post! When I was 14 and was babysitting my two year old sister. She was lying on the kitchen floor peeling and eating a banana. Our miniature poodle wandered over and they began alternating bites. I wondered if that was okay but did not intervene. neither of them seemed to suffer any ill effects.
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“They” say a dog’s mouth is cleaner than…but when they come, smacking their lips, from the litter box, I have reason to question the research.
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I can relate! Ranger dog was a sloppy drinker but not a morsel of food was ever overlooked. He was a great help with the boys – hoovering up anything that hit the floor – even milk and other drinks. But water not so much!
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I noticed in a reply from Michel, he used the word scotched for “stuck to”. Your use of hoovering reminded me of that. We still use Kleenex to mean facial tissue. How would you like to be a descendant of Thomas Crapper?
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