My Dogs Won't Get Out of Bed

My dogs won’t get out of bed. Can you blame ‘em? We’re in the depths of winter darkness, and wind is blowing rain against the windows with the sound of blowing sand. The drops cling to the glass leaving liquid jewels on the panes that sparkle under winter holiday lights. Trees are swaying under swooshes of cold air, sending debris to the ground with each gust.

And our government is taking away food access for the poor, and canceling health care subsidies - essentially cutting health care insurance for those who can’t cram yet one more expense into their monthly budget.

And leaders of this nation decided that might makes right, throwing their weight around like a playground bully,  invading and threatening smaller nations because they think they can. And they are grabbing people from their homes and workplaces in our own country in the name of immigration reform - but most of us see that it is in the whisper of bigotry.

And our elected leaders seem to be shell-shocked and seemingly unable to stand up for democracy. Rolling over onto their backs like submissive dogs at the park, hoping the larger dog will simply sniff their under-parts and then leave them alone.

The president speaks of dogs as the lowest life. “Fought like dogs” “Died like dogs” “They live like dogs” This man doesn’t know dogs. Dogs are the best people.  They want simple things - a bowl of food, time outside to sniff and explore, belly-rubs and ear scratches. They freely give tail wags, adoring looks and lap snuggles. 

A person like that has never noticed a dog doing the “tummy-yummy” roll on the floor after a hearty meal. He’s never been nice enough to a pup to get a tail wag or nose nudge on his knee. A person like that is not generous enough to give a dog a treat and receive a sweet tail-wag-thank-you for his kindness in return.

My dogs won’t get out of bed this morning. Can you blame ‘em?