"You Can't Make Me"

Look at that face. You know what he is thinking? I do. All 9 lbs. of him is saying to himself "You can't make me." Barker is a little dog that I rescued from the humane society. The first time I saw him, I knew I needed to check out this dog. The lady went at him with a towel as he crouched in the corner. He looked more scared than mean, but his attitude came with a little growl. She said "I'm not going to get him out today." Hum, well okay I thought. I'd be scared too if you were trying to throw a towel over my head. Blythe and Reed were with me so I thought it was just as well. However, I don't give up easily, so I went back the next day alone. Still scared, still crouched in the corner, and no one was paying much attention to this little guy. That surprised me because I knew he was a young uncut male Shi-tzu and breeders will watch for this popular breed. They make really cute puppies and unfortunately they sale great at Canton. The second time around it was Saturday, but for some reason the place was less crowded. The lady easily picked up the trembling dog. Once I took Barker from her arms, he held on to me for dear life. He put his head on my shoulder and said "Okay Mommy, let's go home." My only thought was "Steve is going to kill me." Barker made number three on our canine list and Steve has found it pretty futile to put up much of a fight. For a husband who said we would never have a dog in the house, he has done pretty good considering that we have three in our bed. Barker worships me. He sleeps next to my head, sits in my lap for morning coffee and lays down by the bathtub when I soak. I found out later that he was dumped at Birdie Park and it took the dog catcher 3 days to catch him. He is very scared of loud noises, and flinches when you move too fast. Poor Barker. What did they do to you? I love my pound puppy, Barker. He's a sweetie, but stubborn. And he's right. I can't make him do anything he doesn't feel like doing.