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Welcome to The Levi and Cooper Chronicles. I'm the 'Cooper' and my baby brother is the 'Levi.' We're not siblings in the literal sense of the word. He's a miniature schnauzer and I'm a miniature poodle but our differences go far beyond our breed. You see, I'm the famous angel dog who blogs from the Rainbow Bridge. Well, not famous down on earth but up here in doggie heaven all canines get to do whatever we like and I like blogging. We dogaroons up here can also gaze down through the magic water under the bridge and keep tabs on our humans. Isn't that cool! After I discovered the magic water, I decided that little Levi---who got adopted into the family shortly after my departure from earth---could use a guardian angel. When he blogs he types in pink and when I put my two cents worth in I type in blue.
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Doors and Lamps, No Problem

I thought I was smart while I was on earth---or was it smart-alecky?---but I never in my entire life tried to turn on a lamp or open a door. Levi is only inches away from accomplishing both of these things. Granted, the lever style door openers Mom and Dad have in their universal design house makes it easier for a clever dog (and disabled people) to figure out. But still, Levi's got to be a pretty smart little puppy at 23 weeks old to stretch himself up in an attempt to pull one of those levers down, thus opening the door if he could reach it. Once he puts a little hop into his efforts---which he'll figure out soon---Mom is going to have to make sure the doors are locked with the deadbolts all the time. Did Houdini have a dog? If so, I wonder if it was a schnauzer and Levi is a blood relative.

The lamp is easier to figure out than the door but still I never tried turning it on like Levi did today. He crawled to the top of Mom's chair in the living room and made a grab for the pull chains. I guess he wanted to learn to read the new book Mom got in the mail today---The Dog Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook---and he needed some extra light.

Levi also managed to crawl on top of the twin beds today, too. I could never do it because they are extra high to accommodate dad's bed-to-wheelchair transfers. The first time my baby brother did it Mom didn't see how he got up there. Levi can't take a running, flying leap in the bedroom like he does to get on the couch in the living room, so she was puzzled. She turned around and there he was lying in the middle of the bed. So she put him on the floor and five seconds later he crawled up the side of the bed like Spiderman on the side of a downtown skyscraper.

Another accomplishment for Levi this week is learning how to nap with Dad. He's been in training for this event for weeks but today he actually stayed on Dad's lap for more than a few seconds. Mom was pleased. She clocked him out at six minutes before he jumped down and she said, "When he grows up enough to have a longer attention span he'll be a good little napping buddy."

That napping comment was bittersweet to my ears, though. I was Dad's napping buddy from the day he came home from the hospital until six months before I came up to the Rainbow Bridge when I just couldn't jump anymore. Levi can't get up there by himself, either, without Mom to help but he's young and will learn soon enough. In the meantime Mom puts Levi on Dad's lap every afternoon for bonding time. When she does that, I have to turn my head and look off towards the magical place where all the rainbows from earth arc up to touch. That helps me remember that angels aren't supposed to be jealous of our earthy replacements. I'm still an angel dog in training, you know, so I have a few things like that still to master. ©


P.S. In case anyone is wondering what the two headed pot is sitting by Mom's chair, it's called a Yellow Dog. It got its name from Teddy Roosevelt who saw these hanging on oil derricks in Texas. They filled them with crude and had two rag wicks coming out the spouts and lite them for light. Teddy said they looked like yellow dogs. A newspaper reporter over heard him say that and soon after a newspaper back east had a headline that read something like: The President Sees Yellow Dogs in Texas! The name stuck. Mom and Dad bought that because they didn't know what it was and it took them several years to find another one. That second one was in an oil and gas museum where they finally learned its purpose and history.

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12 comments:

Charlie Daniels said...

G'day Cooper - you may still be learning and earning your Angel wings, but I bet you know a lot more than I do! I ejnoyed that post a lot :-)

Cheers

Charlie

i said...

Levi sure is getting smarter by the day! Your mom's going to have a busy time with him now.

Molly the Airedale said...

Levi sure is one smart pup! Don't be jealous, Cooper! Your mom and dad will forever love you. Levi can never take your place!
Thank you for telling us about the yellow dog! Mom wondered why there were 2 spouts on that pot!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Abby said...

Hi, Cooper...

Levi is a smart little guy...He'll be running the house soon...

I'm sure he keeps your Mom busy...

Me & my Mom love your posts sooo much...You sure are earning your angel wings...

Abby xxxooo

parlance said...

Cooper, I'll be interested to hear what your mum thinks of the homeowners' vet reference book, when she's had a good look at it.
That Levi is a great little dog but don't you worry - it's an amazing thing about us humans that we have an infinite amount of love to give, so no matter how adorable Levi is, and how much he is loved, your mum and dad will love you just as much - for ever.

Petra said...

That little Levi is a smart little one, isn't he?! He makes me laugh.

When he naps on your dad's lap, I'll bet your dad is thinking of you, Cooper, and remembering how much he loved your together time.

You will always and forever be loved!

the many Bs said...

we're glad to see little Levi's progress. it's important to be able to get on the bed and nap with dad, so we're proud of him. he's learning some pretty useful things, like opening doors and turning on lights. maybe he will learn to take out the garbage too! hee hee

woofs.

Scruffy, Lacie and Stanley's Place said...

Cooper, Cooper...did you know there is a PERMANENT indentation on your Dad's lappie from you layin' there??? And it will NEVER go away??? And ur Daddy's lap is just underneath his heart isn't it?????? So basically your Daddy has you permanently indented in his heart??? So...Sweet Cooper...I don't think you should turn your head away...I think you should look at little Levi tryin' to fit into your indented spot and just BURST WITH PRIDE. Cuz you are teachin' that little pup to be a fab doggie...I mean, it's obvious he's brighter than a lightbulb...and ur givin' him a lottta help.

Mumsie said to tell your Mom if she hasn't already, to WRITE A BOOK.

Her words seem to affect Mumsie and make her cry and laugh at the same time. And that's what good writers do!

Bless you all on this Fourth of July, Sweet Cooper.

I think you are an amazing Angel in Training. Um...when I get to Heaven...DO YOU DATE????

Loving lickies...
Lacie

Mr. T-Bone Beasley said...

Cooper!
How are you doing man! Are you eating steak and icecream every night??? Hehehe!

Levi sure is smart. I think it's a Schnauzer thing. My human's grandparents have 2 of those things and they are pretty smart!

Tell your mom not to worry about Levi's New-Turd. The procedure isn't so bad...but the cone sucks!

Slurp!
Mr. T-Bone Beasley

Georgeous said...

I betta watch out for a brainy Schnauzer, I have the brains in this house but I've heard Mum try and persuade Dad to get a large Schnauzer, there could be competition?
Hopefully they'll keep doing the dog mate debate and I'll be spoiled on my own.
Love 'n' Snuffs
George

Anonymous said...

Hey Cooper--
Can't say I generally like dogs too much, but you are better than my own species. I really hate cats! But I must say that I think that Levi and could get along really well. Let him know that if you just paw at the handle and whine pretty, you can teach your Ma to open it for you. Sure, it's fun to learn to do it yourself, but it's also good to train the parents.
I had to train mine to leave the laptop open so I could respond to friends.

Best Wishes,

Rain (Rainy Day Kitty to be precise)

Biggie-Z said...

Wow, Levi sure is smart! Cooper, you are a good guardian angel dog. And you know that Levi will never take your place. I'm willing to bet that if they hadn't had you, they wouldn't have gotten Levi, and then where would Levi be??

Levi is lucky to have a guardian angel dog. My old Uncle Boo was gone for over a year before I came along. My folks still miss him a lot so I try to find new ways to entertain them.

Licks and play bows, Biggie