My son Troy and his friend Ron had driven up to Seaside from Eugene, Oregon, to visit me for the weekend. Troy had an appointment in Seaside early the next morning and had left the house as soon we all got up. Ron and I ate breakfast together, and I went to take care of the Poodles. A little while later, Ron came down to the groom shop and asked if he could use the van to drive to the store for a pack of cigarettes.
"Sure."
I told him where the keys were and off he went; however, he soon returned saying that my Standard Poodle Skylar wanted to ride with him.
"Fine," I said, "Skylar loves to go for rides."
About 20 minutes later, the phone rang. Ron said he was at the store, but that Skylar wouldn’t let him back in the van.
"That’s silly! Just tell him to move over so you can get in."
"No, Sandi, he won’t even allow me to open the door. He shows his teeth the minute I put my hand on the van."
So . . . off I went, walking the quarter mile over fields and up and down hills to a highway. After crossing the road to a small local store, I found Ron sitting outside at a picnic table.
"Let me show you what I mean," he said as he approached my van. Immediately, Skylar began snapping and snarling at the window, threatening mayhem if Ron dared to open the door. I stepped forward and called Skylar’s name. Upon seeing me, he instantly stopped barking and started happily wagging his tail.
I climbed into the driver’s seat, Ron climbed into the passenger seat: we buckled up and drove home. When we arrived and got out of the van, Skylar was his usual friendly self. I guess the message was, "Don’t nobody mess with MY van!
Author: Sandi K. Savedra-Dixon
Te-Awa Poodles
www.sunsetpartipoodles.com
When a young man borrows his host’s van, he innocently offers to take her Standard Poodle along for the ride . . . not realizing that the dog considers the van private property.
