Little Feet

Little feet
Little feet
Everywhere I turn I can see them
Little feet
Little feet
Night and day
I eat, sleep and feel them

(apologies to Martin Charnin, lyricist of Annie for borrowing and adapting his lyrics!)

My life seems to be filled with little feet. Little muddy pawprints on the floor, little pawprints on my black pants, little feet planted in the middle of my chest when I sit down, little feet jumping up against the back of my knees when I walk, little feet on my knees when I sit at the kitchen table, little black eyes looking at me hopefully, the pitter patter of little feet racing up and down the hall, little feet stepping on my feet as they wrestle under my legs while I work, not a single pair of pants that aren't covered with little footprints.

The problem with dogs is they hear so damn well. I try to tiptoe out to the kitchen and immediately I have three dogs following me. I'm the Pied Piper of Davis. (Sheila never bothers. She's busy guarding the house and knows I'm not going to give her anything to eat anyway.)

But Lizzie will leave her post in a split second if there is a chance for food, however infinitesimal.

Walking down the hall in front of Lizzie and Polly is a real experience. They say what you do to train a dog NOT to jump on you is to ignore them. Well, I've been ignoring Lizzie for years and hope still springs (literally) eternal. She leaps up against my back at every step. Step, leap, step, leap, step, leap. While Lizzie is leaping up and hitting me with both paws in my butt area, Polly is right by her leaping up and hitting me with both paws in the calf area. It almost seems strange to walk across the floor with nobody hitting me somewhere in the backside with tiny feet.

If I'm in the kitchen, hope really springs eternal as everybody hopes for a treat. But if no treats are forthcoming, they'll settle for dropped food (and since I am such a klutz, there is often dropped food).

They are so intently focused on my hands and whether I drop anything that I bobbled one of Sheila's pills the other day and Lizzie snapped it up instantly before anybody else could get to it. She must have been really surprised because later on I found the pill on the floor with the two little guys sniffing at it.

When I sit at the kitchen table I am never alone.

If I finally get to my desk to do some work, there is the sweet face of Spencer at my knee pleading for...something.

I love these little guys. I really do. But every so often I just wish the little feet would go away!!!