Well it wasn't exactly as easy as I thought it was going to be in the beginning. I soon learned that crying did not necessarily bring food. In fact I remember one time spending a great deal of time crying and throwing myself against a thinly boarded up doorway. This time however it wasnt food I was trying to get. It was my mummy's attention. It didnt work though. No matter how long or hard I cried. She only showed up when I was completely quiet. I think it was an entire day of crying and sleeping that taught me that. I was in a small entrance area. At first I wasn't afraid because I had followed my mommy and daddy lots of times and they always walked back and forth and in and out of doors. I knew this door went outside. I also knew the thinly boarded doorway led into the kitchen (the food room). There was one other door that my mom sometimes closed off. It led into a bedroom and I was sometimes allowed to go in there but only with mom. This day I felt quiet comfortable. When it was wet outside, I had layed in this entrance area many times to dry off. Mom always gave me some pats and hugs and a cookie. I didnt mind this area. This day mommy had given me a cookie, snuggled me, kissed me, said some words like "Bye, bye Molly." (Which in months to come, would begin to mean a whole new 'thing' I'll explain later). Then, mom walked out the door. All I had was a rubber toy like thing, a bowl of water and my big fat mat. Well, talk about fear and disbelief. It took me a moment to realize mommy was not going to walk back through the door as quickly as she normally did. Soon, I came to the conclusion I had been forgotten! I knew I had to hollar and yelp so she would know she forgot me. I ran up against the thinly boarded doorway and tried desparately to climb over it. All the time yelping and crying as loudly as I could. I would stop every few seconds to listen for her. When I didn't hear her coming right away, I would instantly begin yelping again. After about 5 or 6 times of that I thought I had heard her and stopped yelping long enough to really listen for her sounds. I layed there for what seemed like an entire FULL minute! Sure enough she came back. Well, I was astonished and jumped up at her immediately. She picked me up and gave me a wonderful crunchy treat. Mmm I DID like that. This routine seemed to go on all day long. Each time mommy would be gone for longer periods of time. Eventually she would leave for what seemed like an eternity, but she said it was only half an hour. Hmmm it didnt feel like a half hour now when I look back. Anyway mom finally came back in with another treat. Good thing too because I was starving to death. I definitely liked these treats. I soon learned that when I did certain 'things' especially well, there was an endless supply of treats. And even more important, the treats got even better with certain tasks. Crunchy or meaty or cheesy, oh my! Hmmm. Do you think this was the beginning of my training??
Well, I guess it was.

        As the months rolled by I was learning so much I felt I was a BIG dog already. I learned that getting brushed and fed and played with were normal everyday ocurrances. I didn't have to do anything special to get them. It was all the other silly 'things' that mom wanted me to do that I had to work hard towards. 'Things' like sit, stay, come, lay down, walk, heal. Now I know this sounds absurd and indeed it was to a beginner like myself. I was supposed to do each one of these 'things' whenever my mom or dad asked me to do them. They really were silly at first because there was no reason for me to do them at that time. I didn't see the need for them at first. BUT, the treats! OH THE TREATS I got when I did them! It seemed to take me forever to learn them. I hear Mom talk about those days now and she always says I was a very quick learner. Hmmm not what I remember. During those days I tried very hard to be the boss. I felt in my heart, that these people needed me to protect them. They obviously could not smell the dangers around them that I could. There were so many scarey things in their environment. They were big and noisy and some of them seemed to move all by themselves. Sometimes they tried to move when these people were trying to hold them back. Oh yes, indeed, these people needed my help. I just had to convince them of that. They certainly took a long time to be convinced.
It's been almost 4 years now. I've learned so much. I know that not all, is as scarey as I thought.

         I had learned that these people fed me regularly (although it still, is NEVER enough) and they laughed when we went out to play. They liked to run and throw things for me to play with. They romped with me and rolled around with me but they always stopped playing right in the middle of a game. They sure didn't know how to finish the game off. They always left me wanting more. Oh well, I eventually learned they were to be trusted. That's about when I started calling them mom & dad like they called themselves. I had learned that some of the noises that were scarey to me, did not always scare my mom & dad. I just had to learn which ones they needed to be protected against. After all I was sure that was my job. Protect these caring people against scarey things.

Like the biggest noisey thing of all. They called it the Lawn Mower!

        I was about 3 months old when that BIG noisey thing came along. I had been lazing in the grass just enjoying the warm, yet shady area of my favorite spot. Mom kept calling me over to her but I didnt want to stay with her. I loved my shady place, and I knew this was a good time of day for napping. It was very, very HOT and