The dog was on pick up duty 24/7 - no breaks. I used to think of it as annoying. Now, I see, it's necessary and a service.
I should probably explain that I just vacuumed the kitchen floor.
It's an off white marbleyish color. I'm trying to remember why we chose WHITE. Or why this is the first time I've questioned the color of kitchen tile.
It seems that our Farley the Wonderdog was a service dog of sorts. He cleaned up everything and anything on the floor. Sometimes catching it in his mouth before it hit the floor. He would assess the extent of my cooking project, and man his station, right next to the cutting board.
It's been 2 months since we lost our service dog. And I still wait to hear the scurry of his feet when I know something's about to drop while I'm cooking. Just for a millisecond, I think "Farley will get that." And then I pick it up.
Right now, I'm being conditioned to wipe up a spill or two. Sometimes, I guess, there's a spill I miss happening. I don't know what it is. I'll be walking by and and grab a damp cloth and go to wipe it up and it's apparently cemented into the tile. How does lettuce do that? I need a steel brush to get it off. I've never had this on the floor before. I think to blame the kids or Ricardo. I mean, how did it get there? Certainly not by my doing. IT's not even a color, shade or texture I remember having in the last week. What the hell is it? And how did it get there? And why hasn't this been here before?
And then I think "Farley had my back with this floor." He must have had so much fun cleaning our floor. And we never really knew the extent to which he did it. I bet he'd been covering for the kids' spills for years. What a guy.
A dog will clean your kitchen floor. Maybe he'll eat your couch, or your pot roast or your 5 lbs of hamburger meat thawing on the counter. Perhaps he'll destroy a wall and shed 5 pounds of hair a week. We can now vacuum our entire house without emptying the vacuum thingy. With Farley, we had to empty out the thingy every room due to the apparent Rogaine experiment dog.
I think I've assessed the trade off and I'd rather empty the vacuum every room than be aware of what sticks to my kitchen floor. That dog was a service dog of many sorts.
So thank your dog right now. Go do it. For cleaning up all the nasty you don't even know exists in your home. You have no idea. You don't know, because the dog's got you covered. Go. Thank. Your. Dog.
This has been a Public Service Announcement for the Dogs Across the World Who Clean Up Your Nasty Floor campaign.
That's how I roll.
Song of the Day: D.O.G. by Hyim and the Fat Foakland Orchestra
What a guy!