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January 24, 2021: Ryder Weighs In

I’m Ryder and I have a few things that need to be said. Shadow seems to spend a lot of time in the limelight, which is kind of ironic given that her name is Shadow. She came to live here with the expectation that she would be my sidekick, with me continuing to run the show. Sometimes I feel as though the opposite has happened. This is an instance of reverse logic. The head dog in this household deserves better.

For instance, right now, Shadow is downstairs, resting by the stove, at Pete’s feet. And me? I’m here upstairs, curled up on my dog bed, channeling Alys, who’s job it is to respond to all our wants, needs, requests, and desires.


Ryder hanging out on the steps

She’s done a good job, up until now. I am now setting the record straight, in hopes that she and Pete take notice and err in my behalf.

Alys tells me that I’m the upstairs dog. So, I hang out up here, often curled up on my bed or on Pete and Alys’s bed. I go downstairs for dinner and am taken (with Shadow) on trail rides. I do enjoy getting out, as I always have. There may come a day when I defer to Shadow, but that time is in the very distance future.

I do have a few requests. The first is the matter of car rides. Shadow gets to go on those outings with Pete and Alys. Me, I get left behind. This is not right. I should either get to go with Shadow, or Shadow should be left at home. I expressed my displeasure a few days ago by getting into the compost bucket and spreading the contents around the kitchen, but neither Alys nor Pete made the connection. Humans think that because they are more highly evolved, that they are more intelligent than canines. Well, quite obviously, as the compost bucket situation indicates, they are not as smart as they think.

Next, I will speak to the subject of bones. Quite often Pete will return from the supermarket and put them on top of the refrigerator. When Shadow becomes restless, Alys will give her a bone. I’m usually upstairs when this occurs. I then get the bones that have been licked clean. I say, either give us both a bone simultaneously, or give us no bones at all. It’s hard to take, watching Shadow contentedly gnaw on a bone with me getting the castoffs.

Lastly, there is the matter of treats. I suggest that because I have seniority, that I be given larger portions, or say, two treats to Shadow’s one. This is only fair, given that I am by virtue of having been here for seven years longer than the new dog, deserving of this right.

There, I have, in providing these examples, hinted at certain inequities and at the same time indicated how these issues might be resolved. I also have not casted aspersions on my owners’ or the other dog’s character. This is quite a feat considering that I have been wronged.

I do hope that the message that I have communicated to Alys via pet telepathy is read and that the appropriate action is taken. My paws are crossed because, yes, I deserve the best.

Next: 25. 1/25/21: Bright Lights Book Project: Growing by Leaps and Bounds

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