The Story of Moose Super Dog
My name is Moose Haig. I now live in dog heaven. It is a place where there is always a bowl of food. Fresh bones are given out every morning. The cats are slow and easy to catch and you can sleep in the sun for hours on end. A kind hearted man, we call god, takes us for a walk and pets us everyday. I am going to tell you my story. My old master will do the writing and if you have questions you can contact him on the internet at firewriter@hughes.net
Chapter 1
I was born in northern Michigan in 1993. My mama was a pedigreed Labrador Retriever and my dad was a trophy winning duck dog. The man who bought me and took me home is called the Firewriter. When he came by to look at us puppys I was dragging one of my sisters around by her tail. She was yipping and yapping and I was grinning and having a good time. The Firewriter liked my spirit so he picked me. It was the start of a love affair that would last for 13 years.
At my new home there was a black lab named Tasha. We became close friends. Tasha was older than me and helped me learn how to be a good citizen. I was never lonely at my new house. I slept with Tasha every night. My master taught me how to walk on heel, how to sit and stay, and most fun of all, how to retrieve a tennis ball. There was a lot to learn. It was fun for me because I wanted to please my master. When I did well he would pick me up and cuddle me and tell me what a good dog I was. I soon learned to ride the lawn mower and the snowmobile. It was great fun. We lived close to a lake so I also got to swim everyday after winter was over. When the grandkids came to visit I would pull them all over the lake in an inner tube.The woods and lake area were full of great smells. It was exciting to live in northern Michigan.
Chapter 2 : The Early Years
I was a beautiful puppy. I was a light yellow almost white color. My master, the Firewriter, always had black Labradors. I was his first golden Lab. They took some pictures of me. I was a real ham. I liked to pose for pictures. Aunt Tasha was staying with my master and made me feel comfortable. I got to snuggle up with her at night and she kept me warm. I felt her protective love so I never howled at being away from my brothers and sisters. I was now living on a farm. There were a lot of places to explore and new things to learn. I always stayed close to Tasha.
Here are a few pictures of me playing and sleeping. I did a lot of this when I was a puppy. It helped me grow big and strong. Playing with Tasha every day would tire me out. When we were through having fun Tasha would lay down with me while I slept. Sometimes she would just tuck me in to take a nap by myself.
Gimme That toy Tasha
I used to drag my sister around by the tail. Keep pushingTasha and you will get the same.
Learning to be a good citizen can be an aggravating process. The Firewriter was always nagging me. Sit, stay, down, heel, stop that noise, no, come, kennel, shhh, were a few commands repeated over and over until I remembered them. You could say my master was hounding me. (No pun intended) Tasha was always with me during my training time. She was a well behaved dog. When my master was gone it was a different story. Tasha was not adverse to stealing a morsel of food from the table when the Firewriter was out of the house. When my masters left they always put me in my kennel cage. Tasha soon learned how to open the latch on the door. We would thunder and frolic through the house. We would steal food and have fun chasing each other. When our masters would come home they would argue over who had forgot to lock the cage. It took several weeks before they peeked through the window, after they left, and discovered Tasha opening the cage to set me free. They rushed inside and read us the riot act. The party was over but it was still a great childhood for me. Here are a few pictures of me listening to the Firewriter.
Are you talking to me? I said are you talking to me? One more command and I am going to growl.
Ahh, my favorite command. Lie down.
Chapter 3: Getting Big
I ate my Kibbles and Bits everyday. I started to grow bigger and Tasha would take me on long morning walks. We were always looking for cats to chase. One day we spotted a big black cat strolling through our territory. The cat had a white stripe running from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. Tasha charged ahead of me heading directly at the cat. The cat appeared unafraid. He slowly turned and aimed his backside at Tasha. Suddenly he emmited a huge cloud of greenish gas that enveloped Tasha. I heard Tasha yelp so I turned and headed back to the porch. That was when I smelled that green gas. I nearly fainted. It was a god awful stench that made my eyes water. The Firewriter came out of the house to save me. He was swearing at Tasha. He grabbed her and took her to the hose. He washed her down but the smell remained on her coat. It took a couple of weeks before I could sleep with Tasha. We both learned a good lesson that day. We learned never to chase the black cat with the white stripe. After that horrible experience we were careful before we left the porch in the morning. We always looked both ways before going out into the yard.
I keep thinking about that darn cat with the white stripe.
Ok Tasha I got this stick in case we see that darn cat.Let's go. You first.
Chapter 4: All Grown Up
It took almost a year before I grew taller than Tasha. We were good buddies. She was always the boss. We were both good citizens and never jumped up on people. We always wagged our tails when we met someone and we only barked when we got scared. The time came when Tasha went home and I would only get to see her when her master brought her up to visit. I knew I would miss her dearly. We spent our last night sharing a pillow.
I love you Tasha. I love you too Moose.
The day came when I started to train the Firewriter. I figured I would teach him how to play golf. I would wait on the deck for him to come outside so I could show him how to hit a golf ball. During the training sessions he would swear a lot. I finally broke him of this bad habit, although I could still hear him mumbling under his breath. I would make him hit the ball and I would retrieve it. It was great fun.
Keep your head down and eye on the ball. Follow through on that swing. This guy just doesn't listen sometimes.
My bed box is in the garage. I keep it neat and clean. I have a bulletin board there where I keep pictures of my master and my friends. I also have pictures of some cats I would like to catch. There are also some notes to remind me where I buried my bones and to check the hole where the chipmunk lives everyday. I am a patriot so I keep an American flag on the front of my box. I also keep a record of all the battles and fights I have been in. There are 2 skunks, 2 porcupines, 2 cats, 5 squirrels and several ducks. the ducks are part of my retrieving job when hunting with my master. I post the porkies and the skunks on top to remind me not to tangle with them again. I learned the hard way. When I lost the fights with the skunks I had to get several miserable baths in scope mouth wash and stay in the barn for a week. The battles with the porcupines were worse. They left a bunch of little spears in my nose and tongue. My master pulled some out with a pliers. I had to go to the vet to get the ones that were in my mouth and in my nostrils. That will not happen again. No more fights with skunks or porkies. I know how to recognize them now. The first skunk I encountered looked like a cat. When I ran after him he turned and raised his tail. He took aim and sprayed me with a doomsday juice that almost made me faint. When I rushed back to my master for help, he ran away swearing. it was an awful day. I know better now. I learned to always listen to my master. He tried to stop me from chasing that cat with the white stripe but I thought I knew better. It was a lesson learned the hard way. you should always listen to your elders.
The summers were fun. My only problem was losing my good seat in the Gator. After I taught taught the kids how to drive they made me ride in the back.
Chapter 5: The Teaching Years
It took a lot of patience to train the Firewriter. Although my master was very bright, he did have some lazy habits. One of his big accomplishments was the "getting the newspaper trick." I would take him to the front door. I would run to the mailbox and get the paper. His job was to run to the cupboard and get me a dog biscuit. He caught on quickly and it became a task we performed every morning. When Tasha came to visit we would go to the mailbox together. I trained him to give her a treat also.
The Sunday paper is heavy. I deserve two biscuits.
Teaching the grandkids was difficult at times. When I was showing Travis how to be a champion go-cart driver we had a few close calls. He liked to drive fast. We would tear around the farm at high speed and sometimes we even chased the gophers. It was great fun.
On the Job with my boss
Part of my job is to make sure the chores get done around here. Today I took my master for a ride on the big lawn mower. It was time to cut the grass on the three hole golf course. He did a pretty good job. I ride in front to retrieve any golf balls that were not picked up. I also get to chase any gophers we encounter. It was hot and sunny so I wore my sombrero. It was a gift from a Mexican hairless who lives in southwest Detroit. I sure look dandy in that hat.
Working with my boss
After all the summer activity, swimming, running in the woods, chasing the stick, and playing with the grand kids, a few days with the adults is a good thing. I can play scrabble with them. it is my favorite activity with the older folks. I do have some special abilities. I get the paper from the mail box every morning. I ride the lawn mower and the tractor. I make sure the squirrels stay out of the yard. The very best thing I do is play mind games. no matter what my master is doing at 4 pm, I start bugging him to go outside for a stick throwing session. He might be watching TV or reading, it does not matter. I go stand by the door and stare at him. If he ignores me, I go lay my head on his knee. If that doesn’t work I will put my nose under his arm and start nudging him. I then go to the door and stare at him again. He will usually become unnerved and curse and grumble but will always get up and take me out. A few times he tried to outlast me by pretending not to notice my antics. I then use my high card. It is a few choking sounds and the humping of my back like I am going to throw up. He is out of his chair in a flash and beats me to the door yelling, outside, outside Moose. He is easy. I can also pull his chain when we go outside by not going off the porch. I just stand there and stare at the scenery. We have lots of fun playing these mind games. It gets me even for the times he tickles me ears when I am sleeping.
Last week Sharon and Kathy came up to visit. They both have high paying responsible jobs. I love to play scrabble with them. I usually win. They are constantly challenging me on dog words. Dogs have a language of their own. A woof can mean many things. iI depends on how it is expressed. A gentle woof can alert people to a strange sound. My favorite is the sudden high pitched loud barking using repeated woof woofs. I love to do this when I am lying next to my master’s chair. He usually drops his book and bolts upright swearing. Anyway take a good look at the picture of Sharon challenging me on the dog word, grrrrr. A good scrabble word if you have no vowels. In the picture you will notice she is drinking a beer. Always a fatal error when playing Moose...Super Dog scrabble.
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