Luna woke up cold today. It rained last night and she doesn't have any type of shelter to keep her dry. She lives in sunny Los Angeles where it's been perfect weather for months now. But the water finally came. She loves water, but she doesn't love it THAT much... Thankfully, the sun was out early in the morning to warm her bones. Luna's people, Barby and Chuy, must have figured out that she was NOT happy last night. They had come home too late from drinking with their buddies to put her in. The rain had come and gone by the time they showed up. Good one guys! But she forgave them. They made it up to her the next day.
This morning, Luna woke up to the sound of her people talking about her. They expressed remorse for not having come home in time to put her in before the rain came. They showered her with hugs and kisses. They fed Luna, ate their food, and walked Luna to the park. They took a stroll, played some catch, and Luna was satisfied. But wait! They weren't going back home! They were going... to the CAR!!!! Luna was VERY excited. She jumped in and could hardly contain herself. They gave her a bone to keep busy, but no bone could distract her from the delicious smells and noises from the street. She looked at the other cars, and smiled at her reflection in their windows. She loved the air hitting her face as they sped down the 10 freeway.
When they all came to their destination, Luna noticed that she was not the only four-legged companion in the parking lot. There were many, in fact. She was surprised, because her people don't really let her play with other dogs. As tired from the play day at the park as she was, it did not stop her from getting excited. Her people were nervous, though. They stood in the parking lot and talked about going home. They did not want to risk having Luna look like a bad guy if she were to be attacked by a dog. But they looked at Luna's eager eyes as she obediently held her sit-stay position in the parking lot, not even looking at the other dogs (but secretly wanting to go rub noses with that Shih-Tzu that keeps barking at her...).
Luna and her people walked into store full of succulent sights and smells. It was as though they knew Luna was coming, because everyone moved out of the way as she walked by. Luna thought they were very kind to do so, but her people seemed irritated. They walked straight to the toy section where Luna got to pick ANOTHER squeaky toy. Her people tried to convince her to get a quiet ball, but what was the fun in that?! Luna knew she had to be extra good to get to play with it, so she tried very hard to keep herself from playing with the other dogs (that all seemed to bark her for no apparent reason... Luna wondered what she did to them... did she take their toys?!)
Luna was causing quite a stir, but all she was doing was sitting next to her girl, Barby, and watching her boy, Chuy, take down a HUGE hard plastic box from one of the shelves. He put it on the floor and tried to convince Luna to go into it. Luna looked at him as though he were insane. Why would Luna ever POSSIBLY want to go into a dark box like that?!?! Not even the squeaky toy could persuade her to go in. So he gave up and just made her stand next to it. He measured with his eyes, and decided that it was the perfect fit. So they made their way to the cash register, where waiting for them was none other than the Shih Tzu from the parking lot! Barby told Luna to Sit-Stay, and she did. A older gentleman laughed at the site of a tiny dog wanting to fight with poor little Luna, the mean looking pitbull. Others turned around and watched to see what would happen, and of course their eyes were fixed on the beautiful blue Luna. Luna loved the attention, but did not understand what was happening. She looked up at Barby, and Barby gave her a sympathetic look and apologized. She walked Luna to another section of the store where the Shih Tzu, the two Chihuahuas, and the Jack Russel could not see her.
Luna wondered why her girl was hiding her while her boy got to stay in line with the other dogs. But Luna didn't complain. She sat diligently next to her girl and waited, like she knew she was supposed to. A young man walked up to Luna, and she began to get excited, but a quick pull from Barby reminded her that she had to be on her best behavior. Barby let the young man pet Luna, and Luna kissed his hands. He said Luna was a cute dog! Luna was ecstatic. Barby was proud. As the little dogs kept yapping, Luna kept behaving. Never letting out a sound and being ever-so-obedient, she permeated the postive image of a well-socialized pitbull.
Her boy met them at the door, where he praised her for her good behavior and gave her a treat. He carried that big scary box with him, too. They walked back to the car and Luna sat patiently while Chuy put the big box away.
Luna was tired. Too much excitement for one day! She laid in the backseat and listened to her people sing along to Bob Dylan on the radio.
They walked into the yard, where Chuy started to assemble the scary box. Luna still looked at him like he was crazy, but after many failed attempts of trying to coax her in with toys and treats, Chuy picked her up and shoved her in!!! As much as she hated to admit it, Luna started to like the box. She's thinking that if it rains again, she might sleep in it tonight. :)