At a recent meeting my fellow writers double dog dared me to blog about a very personal event that happened this weekend. Of course, that meant I had to divulge my secret. However, I think I’ll be taking this in a different direction than they ever meant me to go.

You see, I have a teddy bear of a dog named Loki. He is a pedigreed brat from his curly head to his poufy tail. In his ADHD Welsh Terrier mind I am his and do not belong to anyone else. He does not take kindly to any adult entertainment I might find. At home with me, he generally no longer chews up anything, but if someone else is over, he can’t contain his jealousy.

My lover (who lives out of town and so is not over on a regular basis) sends Loki into convulsions. He behaves well enough, but waits under the bed like a shark, to catch and destroy whatever falls from our fun on the bed to the floor below. He started with shoes and socks so we very carefully do not leave those things out. Then he progressed to lube bottles. Those damn things get slippery and slide off the bed…he’s devoured at least three bottles of lube with no apparent ill effects. Next he worked his way up to sexual toys. First it was my cute little pink battery operated rabbit, but this last weekend it was my favorite mini bullet EVER. I loved that toy and it was not by any means cheap. And though Loki is the culprit who did the chewing, I do partially blame my lover…it was near him and it was his leg that kicked it off the bed. I would’ve noticed my favorite toy sliding down to the waiting predator below.

Now Loki lies curled up on the couch like the teddy bear that he is…completely happy that the house is his again and he is back to sleeping with me. This stunt, however, makes me reminisce about my dogs rather than carry on about my sexual play or proper methodology for involving toys during intercourse.

I have had three amazing dogs over the past fifteen years and they have each been (or are) as different as night and day. Ajah was a Chow-Sheperd mix and was as high-strung as the day was long. He was a virtually Houdini, an attack dog when it came to men who drove delivery vans, and a staunch defender of my person. When he died at the age of ten in his sleep while I was away on vacation my heart literally stopped for several months. But now I smile to think of his loyalty and antics.

Gaidin, a Carolina Dog, is almost fifteen and is an old man now. He loves nothing more than a sunny spot, his cushy bed, and human food. He thinks that he is much younger so that I am always having to curtail his activities so that he can still walk the next day. He has always been like a cat with that ‘holier than thou’ and ‘I’m an alien stuck with dumb humans’ attitude! When he passes I will be terribly sad, but I will have years of memories to off-set the pain and I will know that he will have lived a very long and very happy life.

Though Gaidin and Ajah had (and have) a fearless, wild-dog attitude beneath their domestic exteriors, Loki is all domestic. He lounges like a king on the furniture, refuses to go outside by himself, and sticks to my side like glue. He is a bundle of hyper-activity, but he is only two and a terrier so that’s to be expected. He doesn’t try to attack anyone or race off after anything (except maybe a stray squirrel). As a Welsh Terrier he is expected to live a full life of at least fifteen years so I expect him to be by my side for years to come. The main problem is that I gotta wean him off lube bottles and sexual toys cause that is just NOT gonna work for me. My fellow writers suggested I shut him out of the bedroom when I am occupied with my lover…now why didn’t I think of that already?

This poem was written about my beloved departed dog, Ajah though it fits most dogs. Loki, however, is such a mama’s boy, and his breed has lived beside the hearth and next to their human counterparts for over 400 years, that I doubt his doggy brain can comprehend living wild as any form of freedom!

For Hearth, For Love

Quiet dignity
guarded stealth
room to room
wandering.
Fuzzy ears
chocolate eyes
extended paw
for comfort.
Somber watcher
against intruders
pacing territories
marking boundaries.
Cold-nosed kisses
sweeping tail wags
loyal to pack
loving to master.
Softly beating
doggy heart
loves cozy beds
table scraps
gentle caresses
yet remembers
wilder brethren.
Never sought
pampered living
never regrets
lose of freedom
for hearth
for love.