Life with Bugsy..a beautiful 10 year old mutt

 Spending way too much time with the dog, concerned about whether he's nervous or not...can't imagine I ever cared about a dog this much before in my life!  In fact, I know I didn't.  Not that I'm one of those people who don't care about animals..I just didn't worry about or let an animal of any kind rule my day.  It's sort of sad to admit that I really do hesitate to do the activities necessary to leaving the house because I know how this dog will respond.  It started after we moved into this house in Louisville, KY and after I quit my wretched job at Ethan Allen to be self employed.....it started with putting on socks, really? Putting on socks could send this 100 lb dog into fits..panting, and even this weird whining sound.  So, I conditioned him not to "worry" about the socks.  See? Mommy has socks on and is watching TV or making coffee? Or, better yet, on the computer.  See?  Then came..oh my God! She's taking a shower!  (If she's taking a shower, she might leave)  I learned that if I kept house shoes on..oh, okay no worries.  Now, well now we're dealing with drying the hair and putting on makeup. (Seriously)  I totally feel like a crazy woman..telling the dog to go away, that I'm really not leaving (that's a lie) ..(I think he knows that's a lie).  In fact, he lies by the doorway to the bathroom while I dry my hair.  I can step right over you , you know.  I will. I will step right over you and go out that door...well, maybe you can ride along.  And he starts leaping into the air and I say, let's go.