One of her favorite places was the bottom cabinet next to the stove. She liked to nestle between the large stockpot and the food processor.
By the time our daughter was three years old, she had been spending two days a week at Grandma and Grandpa’s house for half of her life. She didn’t want to play on the blanket with the basket of age-appropriate toys. She was an explorer and a little mischievous.
In no time she claimed the cabinets, nooks, and crannies as her own and began to fill her special places with treasures. We would find Grandma’s glasses in the umbrella stand, or Grandpa’s crossword in the VCR. One day, when we were running late for one of Grandma’s many appointments, the car keys were nowhere to be found. After turning the house upside down, we found them in the dog food bin.
We found them only when Grandpa asked his great-granddaughter if she knew where they were—and she did! Grandpa got a big kick out of that, and it became a game they would play. It was amazing … not that a toddler was hiding things, but that when he asked her, she knew where she had hidden each item and would gleefully toddle over to retrieve it. I’m not sure who enjoyed the game more.
Although our grandparents are no longer with us, and our daughter has moved far away, we have a new baby in the house … our large Rottweiler mix puppy. Our new puppy isn’t hiding things all over the house, he is losing things…
HAIR!
When we first brought him home at a mere eight pounds, his hair was soft and fluffy. It seemed to float just above the floor. Flash forward one year, and our little guy now weighs over one hundred pounds and his hair resembles two-inch pieces of floral wire.
Last week, I found his hair in the lunch I had packed for work, which should not have been a surprise. As I was making my lunch, I saw hair in the refrigerator, the silverware drawer, not to mention the dishwasher! How does it get in there???
Some might say it is a testament to my poor housekeeping.
Dog hair has always been an issue for me. I remember one year it was my job to bring the balloons for the Cub Scouts end-of-year party. I had spent hours blowing up balloons and stuffing them into large plastic bags. Apparently, the balloons weren’t the only thing in the bags. When I arrived at the party and dumped the bags of multicolored balloons into the makeshift ball pit, one of the dads commented, “These balloons are covered with hair.”
“We have dogs,” I said as a justification.
He replied, “We have dogs, too, but I’ve never seen such hairy balloons.”
That was a little embarrassing … and to this day, I find all the dog hair overwhelming. And it’s not just me. The other day, Ritchie, our Roomba vacuum, exited his charging station, completed one circuit of the living room, and promptly scurried back to his dock! I’m positive that the washing machine will be the next appliance to quit.
I love remembering the story of our daughter and Grandpa playing seek and find. However, I do not feel the same about finding dog hair in the strangest places.
My mom has the same problem with her Main Coon cat 🤣. Of course, there’s not nearly as many tumble-tufts if I brush her at least once a week. I wonder if that would help with your doggo?