Jack and the Rabbit

We have a special guest blogger today, it’s Jackson from the Famous Jingles litter, aka Action Jackson- owned by Corina Marx.

Hi everyone!  It’s Jackson, and I’m writing to tell you about my exciting day!

First, some background. My mom always takes me to the parks by the water during the cold months.   In the warm months, we go to the mountains all the time.  In the mountains I love the big trees and the little ones too, except that I get very annoyed when sticky things attach to my legs or my tail, or worse…to the long bangs that trail behind me, and I constantly have to ask my mom to take these nasty free-loaders off my butt!

The winter parks don’t have any sticky issues and I can play ball and run as much as I want.  The two parks, Cesar Chavez and Point Iz, are both nice places.   Well, my mom calls it Point Iz, but I think it’s actually called Point Isabel.

I love going to Point Iz, with the beaches and mud and gazillions of dogs.  At that park, I can easily go up to anyone I fancy and sniff butt without getting yelled at, and there are some mighty cute behinds in that park, let me tell you!

There is always a gorgeous lady or two for me to impress, at least until mom ruins it all by taking me to the hose and pouring water all over me like I’m a plant.  The girls don’t like me when I’m all wet like a duck, but you try to explain that to my mother!  I’ve tried to tell her that it is NOT sexy to have someone spray your most intimate parts in front of everyone, but she just doesn’t get it, so I just have to grin and bear it.

My Auntie Lola

At Point Iz I get to go swimming in the cold water, climb down the rocks and best of all: I can torment the little evil squirrels to my heart’s content. I know I am going to catch one soon and make my Auntie Lola (aka Queen Squirrel Hunter) proud!  If only they didn’t hide in the rocks, where I can’t reach, those stupid-looking furry beasts would be putty in my mouth.

Today we went to Cesar Chavez yet again, though I’m so darn bored with that place!   Well, I guess the good thing about going there is that I don’t get a cold shower before going home, and I get to run free and dig in the ground where I can smell the beasts hiding underground.  One of these days I will dig a hole big enough to catch one of those annoying little squirrels that I can smell, but I cannot see.

I know they are down there, probably doing something they are not supposed to be doing!  I, unlike them, am a Good Boy and I always do as I am told with a smile on my face.

I don’t understand why I keep hearing my name being called whenever I’m busy catching them, though: “Jackson!!!!!!!!!!! Jackson!!!!!!!!!! Come here now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now!!!!!!!!!!!!” Everything is doubled and loud when my mom is not pleased.   I never know why, though.  I’m just looking for bad creatures and I aim to do the world a favor by catching as many as I can. I don’t understand why I have to stop doing my job all the time just because I hear my name!

Anyway, where was I… oh yes, today we went to that park that has no showers, and mom took me on a different path that went pretty close to the water, where we hadn’t gone before. I caught a whiff of something interesting and started to follow my nose.

The scent became stronger the closer I got to the water and I charged on, nose to the ground, careful not to lose track of my lead. I ran down a hill, past some flags and signs, beyond the fenced area where the rest of the dogs were playing, and I crossed a road and went up another hill.  My nose then made me stop cold in my tracks: I had found the spot. I started digging furiously, sticking my face in the hole to make sure that no creature could escape while I was busy digging. I could smell the darn beast, but I couldn’t quite see it, so I kept digging and digging until half of my body was in the hole and I couldn’t hear anything.

Well…to be honest I did hear a faint “Jackson” in the distance, and maybe a “you little naughty rascal stop ignoring me and get your butt over here right now”, but I didn’t hear it clearly enough to be sure that the words were meant for me. I am a good boy, though, and I thought it was wise to check and make sure I wasn’t being summoned. I reluctantly stopped digging for a second to look up towards the sound. Mom was up there waving her arms, calling my name and telling me to come back to the dog area, and I faintly heard the word “trouble” among a tirade of profanities that I cannot repeat. I then decided that my task here was more important than a questionable call, and I stuck my head back in the hole and continued to dig with all the strength I had in my paws, spreading my toes to get as much dirt and sand as I could out of the hole.  I could smell the creature, and I was so excited I could barely breathe…. well, my nose was also full of dirt, and that might have been part of the problem.  I lifted my head for a second to get some air, and at that moment I distinctly heard my name being called in an extremely angry tone.

That sign reads ‘Leaving Off-Leash Area’ (but don’t tell my mom I know that!)

I decided to go see what the old fart wanted before I continued with my work, and I ran up the hill towards the angry voice and there she was, red in the face and not looking very happy. I went up to her and asked her what on earth was so important to interrupt me at a most critical moment in my mission. She pointed her finger at me and kept uttering something that I couldn’t really make out. When I realized that nothing delicious was coming my way and the voice and the finger were escalating into dangerous territory, I turned my head towards the spot by the water, then looked back at the angry finger, and without hesitation, I quickly turned and ran as fast as I could down towards where my treasure was waiting before the hand could reach down and grab me by the neck!

As I was running down the hill, something came out of my hole and zoomed down towards the water. “It’s mine,” I said to myself, and I ran with everything I had in me following the speedy brown creature with the white button tail. The darn beast was fast, hopping with legs together over the boulders and tall grass. It probably carried about one tenth of my weight, and definitely much less hair. I had never seen a creature like this one with big ears that pointed towards the sky. I ran and ran for what seemed to be forever. I didn’t hear or see anything except the little brown hopping thing ahead of me… so close and yet so far!

Auntie Lola, I know you have faith in me…after all, you taught me every trick I know, but I am sorry to have to tell you that I failed to catch the little beast. At some point, I just lost sight of it and lost the use of my nose because I had to breathe through my mouth after all that running. In fact, my tongue was hanging at the side of my mouth, which seldom happens, and I was so hot I could hardly breathe. I had to find my mom because I knew she’d have some water for me, and as I walked up the street looking for her I saw a man smiling and pointing at me, and then he looked to the left and laughed and said “he was chasing a rabbit!”

He was talking to my mom, and when I saw her I gathered the last bit of energy left in my legs and walked towards her. I spotted a big puddle on my way to her, and I collapsed in it…the water felt so good on my belly and it tasted good too.

I was glad to see that mom was smiling and the red face was gone. She hugged me and seemed happy to see me, so I guess she wasn’t too disappointed that I failed at fetching the brown creature for her. I know you’re disappointed in me, Auntie Lola, and I promise that I will start training and lose some weight so that next time we go to the park by the water, I can hunt down that damn big-eared clown and make you and my mom proud by catching it and handing it over for some soup and maybe even a lucky foot for my mom to carry around!

So that’s the story of my adventure!  Time to head home and catch a snooze …

[from Christine: Special thanks to Corina and Jackson for the guest blog post! BTW, Auntie Lola says that she is not at all disappointed in her protégé Jackson, and that she’s sure he will be successful next time.]