Whoops big whoops!

I know I am human.  I am know I am not perfect.  Today, though I feel like I need to apologize to Chewie for ending up with me - I mean really how stupid could I be?   And I do think he must just sigh sometimes - "yes, this IS my forever home, doggone it all."

This really was a smack myself on the forehead ridiculous move that while innocent was so wrong.

Yep - I have been working with Chewie and his confidence for, oh - about 5 years.  He will be six this year and his reticence to things did not show up until after that first year.  He started to get particular about what his paws touched, how loud the wind was and things that showed up in places they had not before - like shoes on the stairway or left on a chair or a purse on the floor - everyday life just threw him for a loop.

I normally think about terrier as the safety inspectors.  Dogs that are looking for rodents and know how raise the red flag - that make good use of the grr, growl and lip raising grumpy look.

Now Chewie - he has many warnings to give us but they are not fierce.  There is the bark to howl when someone returns home.  There is the sharp bark and floor scratching when Mango trots down the stairs.  Although, why we need a warning for this I am not clear.

There is the never trust your eyes and ears - always poke it first with your nose test.  He does this with everything he sees.  Some things he has a ritualistic nose poke behavior - every time he walks in the bathroom he has to walk over to the trashcan and bump it until the lid rattles.  He bangs the pots and pans with his nose for dinner.  Then there is the spring door stop that buzzes - he sometimes just noses that one over and over like he a dog that is smoking pot.  "Yeah, if I just sit here, I can bump this thing with my nose and it vibrates for 5 minutes.  Crazy dude."  He will hang his head over and keep his feet planted while he sniffs anything new - like a book on the stairs waiting to be carried up to the office.  He jumps back if it moves when he sniffs it.

Then there is the Chewie four step.  He can dance his way around any surface that he is not sure of - like a grate placed in a trail, or a teeter, or a lake bottom that gets mucky - I always wonder if this is like how people feel about fingernails on a chalk board.  Maybe weird surfaces give him doodle goose bumps.  Hell I don't know, I just know I sometimes have a Chewie in front of me unexpectedly and I have to dance around him or trip.

By far the strongest and most urgent alerts come from Chewie when there is strong winds, lightening and thunder.  He doesn't mind rain - it is storms he hates.

So what exactly did I do today that I feel a need to beg the Chewbug's forgiveness?  I got lost on the way to our trail run - highly unusual for me to get confused about any directions.  And so in my sorting out what the correct route was, I filled the car with gas AND purchase a car wash.  Whoops, big whoops!

I punched my number in at the car wash and read the sign about making sure your radio is off but missed the one about putting your window up - so the first thing that happens is that we get sprayed with the prewash. Chewie was in the back seat and didn't notice too much.  I put the window up and drove in.
Still I was not thinking twice about the car wash.

Then it started - the real wash and the brushes - and Chewie jumped in the front seat panting and shaking. And I couldn't believe what I had done.  Poor Chewie I didn't even know how to tell him we were fine, no one would get hurt.  I patted his head and told him the car wash was very silly.

Once the worst of it was over he hopped in the back seat and promptly pouted - he deserved a good pout.  What the heck was I thinking.

I apologized in my head a few different ways and figured the best way to move him out of the space was to get to the park.  So that is what we did.  We had a gorgeous day for a trail run around lakes.  Canoes were out on the lake, some portaging.  Families were out on the trail, other dogs.  Chewie took a couple of dips in the lake and we had a lovely time.

I think I made it up to him.  He was glad to get home and have dinner and is sleeping soundly next to my chair.  Phew - I adore that silly boy.  And I am sure I am much safer with Chewie in my life.  I know I am a very careful now about what my feet touch and oh, yeah - who I bring into the car wash with me - sheesh!