Fall seemed to blast into central Texas today. It was actually cold (only a high of 75 degrees) and raining off and on. I dread taking the dogs out on days like today because of the mud factor. The drought has killed off most of the Augustine grass that used to carpet the front part of my back yard, which means that the sparse native grass doesn’t completely cover the clay that is exposed. With the rain, the clay has turned into the consistency of thick peanut butter, which is awfully fun to clean from dog paws–and by awfully fun, I mean just awful. I figured, if we’re gonna get dirty, might as well go all out. So I let all three of them sniff and explore to their little hearts content in the land surrounding my house.
I live in a neighborhood that was developed over old farm and ranch land, so occasionally I find some interesting things when digging in the dirt or when the rain washes some of it away. Today, Grimm found himself an awesome old bone sticking out of the dirt–the humerus of a cow. He pried it loose from the dirt and mud and proceeded to parade it in front of Zella and Charley. Never mind that the bone was old, brittle and dirty. Grimm had it and they wanted it. So, the game of bones began.
Zella tried brute strength–she tackled Grimm and grabbed the end of the bone sticking out of his mouth. They toiled back and forth, but no matter how hard Zella tried, she could not get a firm enough grip on the condyle portion jutting from Grimm’s mouth. In frustration, she gave up. Grimm taunted her some more–come on, come get this from me…if you dare!
Since brute force wasn’t in her favor, she tried a new tactic more in character with her sex–intimacy. She ran up to Grimm, mounted him and thrust so hard against him that she knocked him down to the ground. Now, I know in dogs this is more about dominance and, in Zella’s case, frustration. Her assault, however, caused Grimm to drop his bone. Grimm jumped up, momentarily forgetting the bone, and proceeded to wrestle with Zella.
While this skirmish was playing out, Charley watched from the fringes. As soon as the bone fell from Grimm’s mouth, Charley watched for the perfect moment to dart in for the steal. As soon as Grimm went chasing after Zella, sans bone, Charley skulked in and started gnawing on the bone. Grimm heard the scrape of tooth on his prize and ran back to liberate his haul. Grimm ran up and wrenched the bone from Charley’s grasp. The bounty was his! The game of bones was won!
Watching them struggle to gain the bone was exactly like the canine version of Game of Thrones. There was deceit, sexual overtures and dirty, grueling battles. The only thing missing was a dwarf–maybe next time we’ll invite the neighbor’s chihuahua to the game. I finally stepped in and took the bone for myself and hosed all the dogs down. I cleaned off the bone and let Grimm have a few moments of kingly glory. After all, winter is coming–the bleak days ahead will not be favorable for playing the game of bones.
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