Amy Newmark - Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog: 101 Tales of Canine Companionship

Chicken Soup for the Soul

101 Tales of Canine Companionship

My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog

Amy Newmark

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Chicken Soup for the Soul: My Hilarious, Heroic, Human Dog

101 Tales of Canine Companionship

Amy Newmark

Published by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC www.chickensoup.com

Copyright 2021 by Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

CSS, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and its Logo and Marks are trademarks of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC.

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the many publishers and individuals who granted Chicken Soup for the Soul permission to reprint the cited material.

Front cover and interior dog photos: dog jumping courtesy of istockphoto.com/K_Thalhofer (K_Thalhofer), Weimaraner courtesy of istockphoto.com/vauvau (vauvau), Chihuahua courtesy of istockphoto.com/Paffy69 (Paffy69), Boxer courtesy of istockphoto.com/adogslifephoto (adogslifephoto) Back cover and interior photos: Pug puppies courtesy of istockphoto.com/Mordolff (Mordolff), Greyhound courtesy of istockphoto.com/malexeum (Mordolff), Dachshund courtesy of istockphoto.com/WilleeCole (WilleeCole)

Photo of Amy Newmark courtesy of Susan Morrow at SwickPix

Cover and Interior by Daniel Zaccari

Distributed to the booktrade by Simon & Schuster. SAN: 200-2442

Publishers Cataloging-In-Publication Data

(Prepared by The Donohue Group, Inc.)

Names: Newmark, Amy, compiler.

Title: Chicken soup for the soul : my hilarious, heroic, human dog : 101 tales of canine companionship / [compiled by] Amy Newmark.

Other Titles: My hilarious, heroic, human dog : 101 tales of canine companionship

Description: [Cos Cob, Connecticut] : Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, [2021]

Identifiers: ISBN 9781611590784 (paperback) | ISBN 9781611593181 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Dogs--Literary collections. | Dogs--Anecdotes. | Human-animal relationships--Literary collections. | Human-animal relationships--Anecdotes. | Dog owners--Literary collections. | Dog owners--Anecdotes. | LCGFT: Anecdotes.

Classification: LCC SF426.2 .C456 2021 (print) | LCC SF426.2 (ebook) | DDC 636.7/088/7/02--dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021937447

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Clever Canines

Pasta Penitence

Spaghetti can be eaten most successfully if you inhale it like a vacuum cleaner.

~Sophia Loren

I arrived home to the loving, spastic antics of our beloved two-year-old Bloodhound. He ran around, brought me one of his plush toys, and leaned up against me to enjoy some ear rubs.

Did you have a good day at Grandma and Grandpas house today, Hunter? I asked, as he grumbled lovingly and leaned his head into my hand as I continued scratching behind his ears.

Hi, baby! my husband called as he entered the living room. Your mom said he played well with Lily all day, but he did get into a little bit of mischief just before I picked him up. He looked affectionately yet sternly at our oversized baby of a dog.

Lily was my parents Rhodesian Ridgeback who happened to be the same age as Hunter. We were lucky my parents were retired and watched Hunter during the day while we were at work so the two pups could play and burn off their endless energy.

Uh-oh, buddy. What did you do at Grandmas house today? Hunter looked up at me with his sorrowful eyes, his wagging tail slowing down a little as he sat down in front of me.

Your mom made spaghetti for dinner. While they were eating, Hunter ate the extra noodles out of the colander in the sink, my husband explained.

Hunter, is this true? Did you eat Grandmas pasta? He lowered his head, avoiding eye contact with me. Bubba, you know you arent supposed to do that. Poor Hunter slinked over to his living-room bed, lay down, and put one of his paws over his eyes, indicating he knew he had made a mistake.

Aw, I think he really understands what we are talking about, my husband chuckled, as he went and sat over by Hunter and consoled the poor puppy. Its okay, buddy. We all make mistakes. You just have to maintain some control and try not to do this again, he explained as he cuddled with our pup. Hunter rolled over and showed my husband his belly to be rubbed. We both laughed.

That weekend, a few days after the spaghetti incident, we planned to head over to my parents house for a barbecue. I was gathering up the cheesy potatoes and fruit we had cut up to bring over as our contribution; my husband was playing with Hunter and getting him ready for the car ride.

Are you ready to go to Grandma and Grandpas house, Hunter? Youll get to play with Lily! he told him, as he grabbed his leash. Hunter came bounding over to my husband, settled his bottom on the floor, but got up again immediately and bolted into the kitchen as if he had forgotten something.

What do you need, buddy? Dont you want to go play? my husband inquired, as he walked after Hunter to see where he had run off to. With potatoes and fruit piled in my arms, I followed as well, and we both watched as our beloved Bloodhound trotted over to the counter by our sink where we had some dry ingredients from the weekly meal kits that had been delivered to our house. One of the meals for the week included pasta spaghetti, to be exact. Hunter poked his head onto the counter, retrieved the spaghetti, and trotted back to the front door, ready to leave for the barbecue. My husband and I giggled in disbelief as we followed our intelligent dog back to the front door.

Are you returning Grandmas spaghetti, Hunter? I asked him. He lifted one of his front paws, placed it on my arm and looked up at me with his loving eyes as if to tell me, I am going to make this right, Mom. I could not believe what I had just witnessed, and I patted him on the head as I set my food platters on the couch for a moment.

Hunter held that package of spaghetti in his jowls the entire drive over to my parents house. When he got out of the car, he was on a mission to get to the front door. When my mom opened the door, he dropped the package of spaghetti at her feet, looked up at her with his tongue hanging out, and put one of his front paws on her as if asking for forgiveness.

We laughed about the spaghetti the entire evening, but my mother couldnt help but hug the well-intentioned puppy and show him forgiveness for his mistake. Hunter reminded us all that day that while no one is perfect, it is always best to ask for forgiveness and try to make things right with those you love. It has become a running joke in our family: After any argument, we present a package of spaghetti to the other person. It always lightens the mood and makes us laugh as we remember one of the many adventures we have shared with Hunter the hound.