Mad for Madigan

Sometimes I think our dog is a lot smarter than us. So to prove me right, here’s Madigan in her new weekly segment…Mad for Madigan…

Dear Readers:

This week I’m talking about communication. This is something about which I am an expert. For instance, yesterday Mommy informed me that scaring the poop out of the neighbors with my window-howling was, oh, how did she put it…rude? To which I calmly replied, “Bark-bark. Bark bark, whine, bark.” As you can see, I am an excellent communicator.

But despite my best efforts, sometimes my expressions of love, excitement, fear, or interest are misinterpreted by the morons that surround me (word to the wise: don’t let your humans rent an apartment – the idiots get packed in like sardines here).

The point is, communication isn’t all about intention. If my morning whimper in Daddy’s ear means, “I need to go potty NOW” but he hears, “Cuddle with me because I’m sad that Mommy went to school,” well…he’s in for a surprise. Unfortunately for puppies and people alike, what we meant doesn’t matter if it doesn’t come across in translation. Last summer, I met the unbelievably pedestrian terrier downstairs. And even though I started our conversation with what I thought was a very polite, “Bark-bark-bark! Play-growly bark,” he immediately came out with a “Bark-bark-BARK-bark-bark! Serious-growl, snap, yap-bark.” And then, naturally, I was all like, “Barkity-barkity-bark, you stupid barker. Why don’t you just bark-bark-bark your way back into your bark-growl-barkington!” Needless to say, we have not continued our relationship.

In conclusion, even the best of us must work hard to communicate well with the people we love. Sometimes we confuse ourselves, mix our messages…but I like to think of myself as a Pomeranian-in-progress. If I don’t get it right the first time, I find a new way to say, “Play with me.” It usually involves getting into the garbage or stock-piling all of Daddy’s dress socks under the bed but hey…no one’s perfect.

Love,

Madigan

PS: If you were hoping for a cutesy blog post with lots of animal-puns, look elsewhere. I don’t do that. Paw-sitive.