My life went to the dogs along time ago.... I am still traveling around San Diego and venture up to Orange County for events tommorrow. Although my nickname "Auntie Diana" mostly refers to my life as a human aunt--I don't make any bones about being the Auntie to many, many animals....including the silver toy poodle here in Oceanside known simply as "Stella."
Stella Luna is one of my favorite contemporary children's books. It is a story about a bat--and Stella Luna is also my nickname for my batty little dog niece.
Her wails of joy this trip were quickly followed by a lapse into her old ways. Her mom insists she needs to go back to PA--short for Panties Anonymous. The panty-pinching-poodle did her victory laps around the backyard with her current conquest (MY panties) flapping frenetically in the wind. Her mother was distraught and shook her head in dismay. Me? I smirked with the knowledge that I have arrived at a new level in our relationship. Alas, Stella Luna has never before considered me to be part of her intimate circle and I have never had to endure the destructo-dog tendencies--until now.
I have crossed the threshold into the inner circle of someone who she misses and thus has to forage into the depths of the unlocked suitcase in order to pilfer those panties.
Stella Luna has never quite known how to take me. I am a beloved visitor but also a animal behaviorist who always makes her remember proper behavior. Sometimes it is too much. This trip has been no exception, but the difference is that she has hit adolescence.
What a dreadful time mom is having. Me, I enjoy the torment since I will go home soon and know that my influence will remain and that temporary lapses into mooching mutthood and panty pinching will be short lived--if Stella's mom doesn't loose her humor!
