Saturday’s Criitters, by Charlie

Charlie: I have been in this new place for over a week and it looks like I may live here for a while. I’ve learned some new things and changes are being made in the house and in the car. I really like riding in the car but mom won’t let me ride in the front seat. I chewed through the doggie seatbelt so she fastened me on another one and it was pretty long. Then she put something between the seats, and today she put a booster seat with zip-up sides in the backseat and it’s pretty comfortable. I like going to places where we get hamburgers to eat in the car.

One day she went into a pet store and brought out a green toy. She said there was a cat in the store but I didn’t get to see it, whatever it is.

One day I scratched my Mom and she took me for a nail trim. Then we went to the dog park. There were no other dogs there except for one in the parking lot.

Mom seems like an okay person but she is not consistent. She did not look pleased when I scratched up the door while she was gone somewhere. I was just trying to get her to come back in. And sometimes when I chew on things, she gets loud.

There's a garden in our front yard and sometimes a creature comes and hides there. I saw it today and I went over to take a closer look. Just as I got close to it, it jumped up and ran off. I wasn't going to hurt it. I like animals.

The outdoors is an interesting place. There is so much to sniff and to see, it is almost overwhelming. But I am learning about a lot of things that I did not get to see when I lived in a cage.