Roxie, our boxer and four-legged child has become a con-artist. She gets a treat every morning but I recently discovered she has been getting at least two every morning. Each morning she will go over near the sink and sit because she has to sit to get a treat. She will sit there expecting a treat until one of us gives her one. But if David is first on the scene, she gets one from him and then when I come into the kitchen, I give her one. We didn’t realize this until recently when we were talking about her birthday. We just assumed because she was still in the sitting position, she hadn’t been given a treat.
She was actually born on Mother’s Day five years ago. Saturday, May 13, 2017,  was her birthday. We celebrated with vanilla ice cream which she loves, a doggie cookie and a new toy.
She has brought us so much joy since we got her, even though I kind of forced David into letting me get her. Boxers are a special breed anyway but Roxie has some traits which aren’t the typical ones you would expect. She is skittish about a lot of things. A sneeze will make her run and hide. It’s okay for you to cough, but not sneeze. We haven’t figured out why it bothers her.
If we say it’s okay for someone to come into the house, then she’s fine but if we don’t say it’s okay, you are not going to get into our house. If by chance you do, you will get attacked.
She tries to talk to get our attention. She used to whine when she wanted to go to bed because she wanted us to go as well. She finally gave up on that and just goes to bed. But getting up in the morning is a different story. You must get up when she decides for you too because she is not going to leave you alone unless you do.
If David and I happen not to get up together, she will not have it unless the other one gets up. She will come into the room, trying to talk, bumping her tail into the wall or dresser. If that doesn’t work she jumps on the bed and will bounce or stand on you until you get up.
We now know why they cut off a Boxer’s tail, because it is a lethal weapon. But she was too old to do that when we got her. She doesn’t like going outside by herself and expects one of her humans to accompany her. It’s not that she stays with you, she just wants to know you are outside with her.
Like many dogs she doesn’t like bad weather. She will hide behind a chair, or under the bed, depending on how bad the weather sounds are.
When we are getting ready to take the camper somewhere, if you ever open the door to the truck, she will get in and sit there until you leave. She wants to make sure she doesn’t get left behind.
She usually especially enjoys the beach. This past beach visit, though, she was ready to come home. At home she doesn’t have to have a leash because our yard is fenced and she can roam freely. On vacation, she has to be on a leash, which she accepts but doesn’t really like.
While on vacation, she also expects to eat whatever we are eating. We made that mistake of giving her some of our food on trips and now she expects it and won’t eat her dog food the whole trip.
She really is a good dog though and minds pretty well. She is not one to let you put any kind of clothing or hat on her though. She will have none of it. She loves running through the water and playing in it but she doesn’t like baths and won’t go swimming with us.
She’s really too big to be a lap dog but she thinks she is one. She will demand attention sometimes.
While in your lap, if you try to look at your phone, she will knock it out of your hand. She expects all of the attention.
I have tried to talk David into getting her a companion dog because she would have someone to play with her all and not expect her tired parents to do it all the time. He won’t have any of it, as he says we can’t have two dogs in our bed. He’s right, of course, because sometimes now we can’t get in bed due to the fact that she is sprawled across it. Once she has gone to sleep, she doesn’t want to move either.
I still think we could work it out and teach them to sleep in their own bed if there were two of them. I’m not going to win that one though. We sure wouldn’t have room for two in the camper.
David actually bought the camper for Roxie. Hotels that allow dogs, charge you more, and he didn’t want to leave her when we went on vacation. He was afraid she would be too sad without us, so opted for a way to take her with us.
Every year when planting a garden, she helps me dig. Only problem is, she thinks it’s okay to dig after everything is planted. She has about learned to stay out of the garden, except when it’s being watered because she likes getting water from the hose. She’s like a kid about it.
She loves to chase squirrels and when she chases one up a tree or a pole, she will stay there as long as the squirrel does. One night, after many hours, we had to force her to come inside because the squirrel was still on the light pole and when it moved, she moved and barked.
Ah, the life of a spoiled, rotten dog. They make us laugh and bring us joy for the journey.©2017
VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com