21 January

Zinnia, Dog Of Entitlement, Goes Too Far

by Jon Katz

Maybe she was reading the blog post about her being a postcard, maybe she wants to try out my seat, beneath which she is often sitting. I came into my study from lunch and was startled to see Zinnia, Dog Of Privilege/a/k/a Dog Of Entitlement, sitting contentedly in my chair.

No, she is not allowed on chairs or sofas. No, I have no idea what prompted her to try this out. I got her off quickly – she is not used to getting yelled at – and went off calmly to chew a bone.

I think the animals may be plotting to take over the asylum. As I raised my voice to make the point that she was not allowed on my chair or anybody’s chair, she tilted her head and looked at me curiously, as if I were speaking an ancient language of the dog.

I went over the guided her off with a helping hand and a swat on her behind, which she didn’t seem to notice. And I said “no, Zinnia,” in my Emperor’s voice, which she didn’t seem to pay much attention to either.

But the important news is that she got off. And will stay off. Not even the Dog Of Privilege gets to sit in my writing chair.

14 Comments

  1. It’s so obvious to me that she simply wanted to start her own blog. At least she didn’t say SHE was entitled to a new MacBook Air.

  2. Good for you! Zinnia’s an adolescent now and will test boundaries. A little voice-raising, swat on the butt won’t make her fear you – your bond is established. If you let her do now whatever she wants to, you’ll soon have an out-of-control 80 pound dog. She has rugs, beds, toys, plenty of outdoors to romp with Bud, long walks with you.: she doesn’t need to climb onto your chair or the sofas. She may have seemed indifferent to your correction, but I bet she wasn’t as indifferent as she appeared.

  3. Sorry Jon, I just had to laugh – that is just too cute. So glad you snapped a picture before you banished her from your chair. That’s one of her best pictures yet!!! 🙂

  4. She just wanted to let you know that she wanted to be near you and your chair was the substitute, an expression of her bonding with you. She indeed is a sweet dog.

  5. She’s just letting you know she’s “ready to work”! (That’s lab language for waiting by the gate to “get the sheep” like Fate, but in this case it means she’s set to snooze at your feet while YOU work, LOL 😉

  6. I spit up my drink when I saw the picture of Zinnia sitting in your chair. She reminds me of my golden retrievers, Turner and Bailey–they always look for an edge while looking at you with the sweetest of faces. You’ve taken a number of photographs I’ve enjoyed but this one is the best Jon.

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