Debbie

Almost everything is changing fast in Cedar-ville. But there’s one constant: her tattered stuffed pup gift from Katrina, now called Debbie (a perversion of her formal name, Dead Brown Puppy).

Debbie, once pretty much Cedar’s size, is a very forgiving companion. I have to say, whoever designed her was thinking: How about a cute pup with no mouth? Winner.

Well Debbie’s seen and taken a lot over these two months. Once Cedar’s sleeping companion/pillow, she’s now her play parter / crash test dummy. Their relationship doesn’t do much for my faith in Cedar’s empathy, but Debbie…doth not protest too much.

And about those mouths. The monks made them into a troublesome verb in a section of The Art of Raising a Puppy, called “Mouthing”. Among their recommendations, after putting my index finger down her throat, and using some judo moves to restrain her body and muzzle, is to give her a squirt of concentrated lemon juice, first straight in the mouth, then via my hands.

So I begin this day armed to take on the “mouthing” but relieved to know I have some abiding support from dear Debbie, who takes a licking and keeps on…being dead. Good enough.