Living Vicariously Through Our Pets

I'm a dog mom.  We adopted our dog from the German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County (GSROC).  The adoption process was lengthy, and involved multiple interviews.  I think I failed the first interview, because I may not have been sufficiently welcoming.  The volunteer interviewer was very perceptive, and sensed my hesitation in bringing this mouth to feed, these paws to walk (and... well... you know what else goes with dog ownership) into my already-complicated life.

Funny things happen when you have another life to interact with, day after day.  It happened when I got married.  It happened when I... we... had a child.  And it happened with the dog, Chowder, that the husband and child brought into my life.

We started talking for the dog.  Now, I'd visited with others who talked for their dogs before we actually adopted one.  I thought the behavior a little amusing... odd even.

You start having to learn what they are saying.  The little woofs, the yips, the guttural "wurrarrar".  You observe them, amazed and entertained by their little behaviors.  That bonding thing that will happen when lives are pushed together - happens.

Then there are those funny cat videos.  My nephew and I sat and watched... laughed at... and watched funny cat videos for many days over Christmas.  I must say, I hadn't watched too many before then.  You know, you could spend a LOT of time laughing hysterically with a little kid about those cat antics!

I don't have a cat.  I have a dog.  I, too, want to share my dog's antics.  The dogs definitely are not quite as entertaining as those cats, but they have their fair share of funny.  There's Misha the talking dog who can speak 12 words (perhaps more).  There's the little Chihuahua who dances the salsa.  There's the Corgi who bravely launches off of the dock into the water time after time.  His position is that of sailing through the air.  The reality?  Corgi Flop.

I wonder if Queen Elizabeth (who loves Corgis... I learned that at the Princess Diana exhibit at the Queen Mary) has ever made funny dog videos.  We mused that she must have seen Corgi Flop at least once.

Chowder is a mellow, stately, dog that just likes to hang out at the beach.  He doesn't swim or fetch or talk or flop.  He's not ambitious that way.  But he does have a way with videos.  He's learning how to write, and soon he will draw.  He likes to video the scenes at Rosie's Dog Beach, the off-leash dog beach in Long Beach (the only one in LA County).  That's his claim to fame.

Anyway.  He's working on his YouTube channel, Chowder GSD.  If you want to check out the vids that he takes at Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach, here are a few that I recommend... fun, amusing, and sometimes even a little funny:

• The Blob in the Ocean
• Stick Dogs - What do you do when every dog on the beach wants your stick?
• Shelby - the Shell Digging Dog.
• Labrador Sisters - Playing Team Fetch
• Dolphin Pod at the Dog Beach
• Learning to Write and French Bulldog Party