The Dog in the Backseat

     I'm sure many people wonder why there is usually
a dog in the backseat of my car when you see me driving around town.  It's not because she is too big to sit in my lap or fit in my purse because anyone can see that she definitely is.  She rarely calls 'shotgun' or wants to sits up front.  We have to have gone thru the drive-thru at Burger King (she loves their chicken nuggets) for Fanny to sit next to me in the front seat.  Jeff says it's because she doesn't care to be thrown against the dashboard when I hit the brakes unexpectedly.  I think she enjoys having both side windows to look out of and the full bench seat to stretch out on.  When we go to the bank she sits up and looks out the window at the teller...expecting a treat?  Most times they give her one, too.  But why don't I just leave her home, you might ask.  She is a dog, after all.  Well, she is a very timid dog.  She rarely barks...except at Jeff...and is frightened of new experiences and people.  Leaving her alone at home, even for a few minutes, can have interesting results.
   Yesterday while I was working at the shop in Cooperstown, Jeff had to leave Fanny home while he went for an eye appointment.  He thought he was a couple of steps ahead of her...he put the wastepaper basket in the bathroom sink, the kitchen garbage pail on the porch and the bread bags in the  middle of the table.  That just slowed her down.  He found both bags of bread on his bed...the pumpernickel looked like she had bounced it off the hall walls!  But neither bag had been torn opened.  I found out why when I found the empty Oreo package on my bed...it had been under the bread on the table.  She also

uncovered and ate the frosted cake that was on the table.  It's a wonder she didn't pull the Pyrex cake dish off the table! I guess food calms her fears and we're lucky that chocolate doesn't make her sick.
     

   Fanny stuck her head out the door when I drove into the driveway but wouldn't come outside until Jeff pushed her.  She was glad to see it was me...or realized that I had stopped at Kentucky Fried Chicken and picked up supper...but hid under the table while Jeff pointed out her misdemeanors.  Fanny was not too happy that there wasn't any chicken nuggets for her!  I mashed up the last 2 meatballs from Sunday's spaghetti and meatball supper and mixed it with her dog food and some watered down spaghetti sauce.  It never fails to amaze me how she can clean all the sauce or gravy off the nuggets and spit them back into her dish.  Eventually she ate it all and paid me back by repeatedly emptying her water dish and demanding to be let outside.  She also let off a couple of 'air bombs' that brought tears to my eyes.  We were all still up at 3am!  Now she's the only one who is still asleep.

But what I don't understand:  we can leave her in the car with a boot full of groceries and she doesn't touch them!  Today after voting, I bought a banana bread at the bake sale and left it on the front dashboard while we went out for lunch and grocery shopping.  Again, she didn't touch it.  But if I sliced that banana bread and leave it on the table it becomes fair game????