Ben (a miniature Dachshund born here on the farm) leads an exciting life and writes home to tell us all about it! For pictures and old letters from Ben, simply type "Ben" in the search bar at the top of the blog.
Dear friends
Well, I know I haven’t written in a long, long time, but after all I’m just a pup still and I’ve been very busy. The best news is that I’ve graduated for the Old Town School for Dogs. My diploma says that I’ve “demonstrated outstanding canine intelligence.” So there!
Sandy, my trainer, gave me a free nail clip as a graduation present, and Larry got me two stuffed toys. One of them laughs like a little kid when I play with it. How do they do that? I really like it. I gave myself the best graduation present of all, though. When Larry was putting away the toilet tissue he got the same day I graduated, I stole a whole roll. Before he knew it, I’d taken it to my basket and torn the whole thing up into tiny pieces and then scattered it over the bedroom floor. I don’t think Larry was too pleased with me. He was on the floor cleaning it up, and I kept trying to steal it from him. Would you believe he growled at me? Scared me at first; he sounded just like the really mean old bulldog on Seward Square. After I got over being scared, I started trying to steal the pieces of tissue again, but it was too late.
By the way, Sandy wants me to spend Mondays with her every now and then. Post-graduate stuff, you know. I think she really likes me. I know I like her.
Did I tell you I went to Key West in February? I had to ride in a Sherpa bag under the airplane seat as far as Fort Lauderdale, and then we drove down to Key West. I still wasn’t into riding in a car yet and missed a lot of the views. Now, I really like to look out. (I get really excited when we go to the places I’ve been before, like my school). My favorite place was B.O.’s wagon, where they serve great fish sandwiches. I wasn’t allowed to have any, dagnabit, but I did grab a fry when one dropped to the floor. The weather wasn’t very good there, either. I don’t understand why my very first winter on earth had to be one of the worst ever. All that snow and my short legs. Unfair! I did get to meet Hoover, Jack’s dog, and some other dog that didn’t like to share bones. My first fight, ever! Can you imagine such a thing. I also got to meet Aunt Sharon. She took lots of pictures and wants to come and photograph me visiting Washington monuments. I don’t know when she’s coming, but I’ll be excited to visit her again. And I met another Ben, there, and his wife Helen. I had a good time listening to Ben playing the guitar and, when he quit, chewing on his arm. Not hard, just enough to show him how much I enjoyed his music.
I’m a good climber. I especially like to get up on the kitchen table, just to look around and, on occasion to snag some food. I had a great salad the other day and today I had a whole banana. I could only eat half the peel, though. Larry didn’t say a word, but you could tell he was afraid I’d throw up or poop indoors. That’s a big no-no in this house, and I’ve gotten really, really good at waiting ‘til we go outside.
I’m really excited. Pretty soon I get to spend two weeks in the country with Aunt Julia and Aunt Helen. Helen wants me to sleep with her. I hope she likes to get up early, because I like to eat first thing and then go out. Aunt Julia has another dog, Sara, who was a friend of Tyler. She’s no youngster, so I hope she’s ready for a pup in the house. I’ve got lots and lots of energy and like to run a lot. Larry can’t run. He’s got a bum ankle, so that’s a trial I have to endure. Tough luck, huh!
Your friend, Little Ben
P.S. I’ll write sooner next time. I’m sure you’ll wanna know what kind of trouble I got into out in the country.