Have Drool, Will Travel

I took Duke for a car ride the other day. It was just me and him...for the first time ever. Usually, Meredith won't let him out of her sight, but she was still at work when Duke and I decided to go to the post office.

Duke has already become a part of the family. He sleeps inside...usually on Meredith's bed. The unusual thing about his morning routine is his early wake-up calls. He'll get up at 5:00 in the morning and come get in bed with me! I guess it's not enough that Maddie and Scooter are already hunkered down on my sleeping quarters. Plus, Duke takes up as much room as a full-grown human being. But no kidding, the dog will wait until early morning...slink into my bedroom...and creep up on my bed...ever so quietly...so as not to wake me. That's most mornings. Some mornings he'll come bounding down the hall and leap into my bed like a kid that just heard the ice cream truck coming. I kind of get the feeling that his inner monologue is saying: "You ready to go outside, are you ready, are you ready, huh, huh, huh, are you ready?????" I'm probably wrong, though. He's probably thinking, "I gotta pee, I gotta pee, I gotta pee, better let me out, better let me out NOW!!!"

Back to the car ride...

Duke hopped up into the front seat like he knew where we were going. He rides very calmly, much like Scooter does. There's a BIG difference, though. Duke drools! Not just a little bit...I mean a LOTtle bit! Half of my work papers were inundated with his spittle and needed to be dried in the noon-day sun. They're still wrinkled and discolored. Pay special attention to my gas gauge. Yes, it's below "E." That's because I like to live life dangerously. (Actually, I'm trying to see how far I can go on fumes. Only two more days to go before I add gas....) Also, note that I highlighted some of Duke's drool. The last drop, which I affectionately call the "Mother Lode," went through five sheets of paper within a nanosecond.

I've grown to love Duke. And trust me, he and Meredith have already planned their wedding. They might as well, they sleep together every night. I just wish he'd stay in there until about 7:00. That five o'clock wake up call is about to kill me.