Poor Cocoa! Last year, I had the “bright” idea to take her with me to the beach. It wasn’t the right kind of fun.  Instead of collecting rocks and sticks, she drove herself nuts collecting sea shells—no kidding. I was shocked when I noticed that she was piling shells on the end of my beach blanket. By the time we left, she had quite a stash!

When I left my office on Friday, a co-worker asked, “What is Cocoa going to do this weekend?” I smiled and said, “We’ll think of something.” But I didn’t know what that “something” would be. A remodeling project that was supposed to end a couple of weeks ago was dragging on. Plus, tropical storm Fay was threatening to move north bringing buckets of rain to our area (or at least this is what we hoped would happen). So Saturday came and Cocoa did not have a planned adventure in the works. She chased a squirrel around the backyard until it was delirious with fear. She sat patiently beside me as I painted baseboards in the new office area, but that was certainly a lackluster job. And to add insult to the waning situation, she had been banished to the den after flopping down on the freshly grouted tile floor. Saturday was a wash and Sunday was not looking much better.

By Sunday afternoon she had given up. I was held up with the computer writing madly and trying to catch up on some work. Storm clouds were rolling in, and all Miss Cocoa could do was take a nap.

Every few minutes, she opened her eyes and looked up to see what was going on . . . nothing much from a doggie perspective.

PJ the cat dropped in and together they watched to see what the birds were doing in the yard in-between rain showers. There were no butterflies to chase, no rocks to pick up, and no wasps to snap. Drat. It was a rainy, rainy, afternoon.

Just when it seemed nothing good would ever happen again, the kitchen came alive with activity. It was time to bake cookies for Miss Opal and all her friends. Guess who got to help lick the beaters? (And yes, they were immediately washed and sanitized.)

Then it was time to place the trays in the oven, but not all at once—one at at time. And Cocoa was content to watch the oven door to make sure the job was done right. (Notice the chocolate head in the center of the photograph.)

After one tray was removed, another was prepared until all the cookies were done. Whew, this was certainly a hard job. Wonder if Johanna had this much trouble helping her Mommy?

After it was all over, Cocoa realized that being at home could be a good adventure. Who needs long winding paths to follow every day? Being with family and friends and especially good neighbors are the best things that life has to offer, and this is what Cocoa did this past weekend. (smile)

“Every dog needs a job,” says Sandy. She has been training dogs (Dog School 101) for as long as she can remember. “Dogs need to work; they need a purpose. And one of the best things we can do for our animals is to get them busy with something that is fun and rewarding. Most dogs are problem solvers. This is why many love agility training. It provides structure, and it also gives them an opportunity to use their brains.

“If you can’t do agility training, try walking each day. All dogs benefit from a good walk. Some owners who have high energy dogs outfit them with a doggie backpack. Small dogs only need a good pathway, a caring owner, and time to release pent-up energy.”

What are the benefits your dog gains from being put to work?

• A greater level of self-assurance (even dogs have self-esteem).

• A sense of calm (Work helps to burn off calories, anxiety, and allows them to do what they do best: be in a pack).

• Best of all it creates a deeper bond between the owner and the dog.

Cocoa Joy at work—

This is probably not the type of “work” that Sandy has in mind. Here it appears Miss Cocoa is baking a batch of her favorite treats.

This is more like it: After a long walk up to Little Falls on the campus of Toccoa Falls College, she is ready for a healthy snack and some fresh bottled water!

The afternoon began with me just sitting on the porch alone.

But it ended really good because I got to go for a long walk in the city . . . .

where I met Mr. Frog by the lake. He told me there was nothing better than reading a good book.

Chasing ducks and stuff could not compare to this.

Before I knew it, we had walked over to the library, and he had opened a big book and began to read and read and read. He was right. It was the best fun. The end. (For now)

On the left- hand side of this photo are two small figures—Betty and Opal—our wonderful neighbors. When Cocoa was young, she loved for me to take her down to get the mail so she could look for Opal. Loving this person is an obsession that we are still working to control. She would sit down and just wait for her friend to appear. I don’t think I even knew that Betty and Opal were outside the day this photo was taken until I printed it later. Then I realized why Cocoa was being so still—she was “watching for Opal”.