©1994, 2000 Marci L. Norman
All Rights Reserved
SCRATCH
Introduction
Marci L. Norman
©1994, 2000 Marci L. Norman
All Rights Reserved
SCRATCH
Introduction
I am a American Staffordshire Bull Terrier, also known as a Pit Bull. I am almost eight years old, or fifty-six years old in doggy years. I'm fawn colored and everyone tells me I am very pretty. My story begins at a flea market.
I remember it was very cold and I was shivering all over. Two girls took me from the box I was sharing with my brothers and sisters. Soon, we were walking around the flea market. The girls carry me to a lady, and show me to her. She starts to shake her head and says, "No." We start walking again. I don't know if they are going to take me back to my box or not.
Suddenly, a lady is asking the girls about me. They nod their heads and hand me over to her. She looks at me and smiles and puts me inside her jacket. I felt happy and warm and quit shivering. I cuddled close to her.
The lady took me out of her coat and showed me to this man. He smiled and said, "You found a dog, huh?" I learned that the lady's name is Marci, and the man's name is David. I usually think of them as Mamma and Daddy.
The weather was starting to warm up, so they put me on the ground while Marci made me a bed in a box. I heard Marci ask, "What should we name her?" David said, "She'll name herself soon enough."
He was right. While I was wandering around the space they had, every few steps I had to stop and "Scratch." I was only about four weeks old then.
Marci took me outside in the backyard so I could get used to the area. She asked me if I wanted to go potty. I had no idea what she was talking about. I just went about my business, smelling and leaving my mark around the backyard.
At bedtime, David took me into the kitchen where a bed had been made in a box. I had food and water nearby so I was okay for a while--they thought! But then they turned out the lights and went into another room. I couldn't see them. I was so scared. I got out of my box and landed on newspaper, which I had been told to use if I had to go to the bathroom.
I ran to the doorway of the kitchen, but they had blocked the door with a big box. I started crying really loud, and scratching on the box. David came in the kitchen and petted me and told me that everything was okay, but I had to be quiet and go to sleep.
This routine lasted for about a week. One night Marci came in and picked me up. She seemed a little mad, but I didn't care because I was lonely. Marci took me out of the kitchen and got a blanket and we slept on the couch. I was so happy.
A few days later I got my first flying lesson. I was playing with David and I guess I got a little too rough. The next thing I know, I'm flying through the air and land on my butt. I was mad and scared at the same time, but it was only the first of many lessons that I would learn over the years.
My next big lesson was with Marci (and she's the nice one). Marci had let me out the back door to play. She usually watched me just in case I got out of the yard, but for just a moment, she left me alone. What's a puppy to do?
I found a hole in the fence where I could get out and I did. I was having a grand old time until I heard Marci calling my name. I thought I would play hide and seek.
It was fun for a few minutes, but then I could tell Marci was getting worried. I let her find me in the neighbors' yard. Boy, was she mad! I got a whooping and scolded and sent to my box. She wouldn't speak to me for a while.
I remember this pink and purple stuffed elephant that I used to play with. It was bigger than me when I first saw it. Boy, did I have fun with that elephant. Mamma would grab one stuffed ear and I would grab the other and we would have a tug of war. I usually won with her, but when Daddy played with me, he won. Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to my elephant. I still check out stuffed animals. The first months with my new family were a lot of fun.
To let you know how tiny and cute I was back then, my Mamma used to take her socks and cut holes in them for my paws to fit in. I would wear them like a sweater everywhere I went. Everybody thought I was so cute.
The next thing I know I'm in the front seat of the truck with Daddy driving down the street. I thought this was really cool cause I liked to go bye-bye all the time. The truck stopped in front of this big house with a fenced-in front and back yard.
When Daddy let me out of the truck, I went crazy running all around smelling everything. Daddy closed the gate and told me to stay in the yard. (Yeah, right!) Daddy and the kids went on unpacking the truck and putting everything in the big house, while I explored the yard.
A week or so went by without anything-special happening. Then one day Daddy let me out in the backyard to play and before I knew it, I was out of the yard and down the street, checking out all these new smells. These kids came up to me and picked me up. I love kids, so I thought this was great.
They took me to their home and stuck me in the back yard with a really big dog. I was scared. Daddy was calling me and walking all around the yard where I was. I heard him ask the lady if she had seen me wandering around. He told her that we just moved in a few houses down the street. She said no, she hadn't seen me.
Well, Daddy was getting nervous, but he kept calling my name and then he heard me whining. He looked in the fence as best he could and said my name again. Boy, I was so happy to see him, but he didn't pick me up. He just walked away.
I hear him talking to that lady and telling her that I'm in her back yard, and that he wants me back and right now! When the lady came and picked me up and took me out to see Daddy. I went crazy licking him. Daddy took me home. He scolded me a little, but not much.
I think he was as happy to see me as I was to see him. I found out later that day that he was worried because Mamma would have been very, very mad if he hadn't found me. All's well that ends well.
A few days after that, Daddy calls me outside and puts my nose on this wire. It shocked me. I cried out. Daddy said, now you can't get out of the yard, because this wire is all around the fence. I was upset and mad at him, but I was scared of the wire, so I never went near the fence again.
While everything else was going on, they were trying to housebreak me. I didn't understand why they were making such a big fuss about it. I mean, I didn't care much where I went potty, but Mamma and Daddy did. I think it took about a year to fully housebreak me.
Sometimes Mamma would come home from work and just stand at the door and yell my name like she was a crazy person. She would say, "Scratch Bloop Norman, what is this?" Like she didn't know. I would just lie down on my belly and look sad; that always worked.
You're probably wondering how I got my middle name "Bloop." I am always so happy to see people that I just have to give them lots of kisses. Mamma and Daddy have both tried to stop me from licking everyone, but they can't. It's just part of my charming personality.
I guess you could say it was my bedroom, although usually I slept with Mamma and Daddy on their bed. Sometimes, I would get bored just lying around chewing on bones. I decided I would make my room bigger.
The walls were only plasterboard and not very strong at all. I started to chew a hole through the wall.
I thought Mamma and Daddy would be happy, but they yelled at me and spanked me. This went on for about a week. I was determined to make my room bigger: Mamma and Daddy were determined not to let me.
One day when they left me in my room, there was some red stuff on the wall where I had been working. I didn't think anything of it at first. I started to bite into the wall and all of a sudden my mouth was on fire. I tried to bite the wall again, but I just got my mouth burned again. My sweet, loving Daddy had poured hot sauce all over my work area. That was the end of my renovations.
During the first few months in our new house, I happened to break my toe while chasing the neighbors' dog. (He came over to play all the time, his name was Jake). I don't remember how I did it, but I do remember that I was running really fast when it happened.
Daddy came home from work and looked at my toe. Off to the vet we went. I had never been to the vet before, but I wasn't worried because Daddy was with me. I don't remember where Mamma was.
After the vet put this big cast on my foot, Daddy said that I would get a lot of attention from Mamma for this. It was really hard to try and walk with my cast on, but I learned how pretty quick. Daddy was right. Mamma did give me a lot more attention than usual.
Several weeks went by and we went back to the vet. Daddy told the vet that the cast was chaffing my leg, and he thought that the vet should take the cast off. But the vet said to leave it on a little while longer.
Daddy said, "Okay." But I could tell that he didn't like the vet very much. One night when Daddy got home from work, Mamma told him that my cast was chaffing worse and making a big sore on my leg. Mamma always worries about me.
Daddy took these great big scissor looking things and put me on his lap and started cutting the cast off my foot. I wasn't worried because I trusted Daddy not to hurt me, and I was sure glad that my cast was finally off. I remember having to hop on that foot for a few days until the stiffness wore off. Whenever Mamma got mad at me for something, I would just pickup my leg and limp on it.
The only problem with that was and is, I can't remember which leg I hurt. It still works sometimes though.
I would have to say that Christmas is the best day for me because I get to open almost everything that's put on the floor. I know what you're thinking, but I'm only allowed to open something when Mamma or Daddy says I can, and I always get a present to open when someone else gets one, anyway.
At Christmas, Mamma passes out the presents to everyone, including me. Mamma and Daddy will tell me to open my present. I go hogwild ripping the paper off the package or ripping open the box.
Wrapping paper and pieces of boxes get scattered all over the floor. They love to watch me open presents as much as I love to open them. After Mamma and Daddy open some of their own presents, they let me help open others.
The only time Mamma and Daddy get mad at me for opening things is when we're getting ready to move. I'll grab at the bottom of a big box and start pulling on it. They don't like me to do that at all.
Ever since I can remember Daddy has been teaching me how to do tricks. Mamma taught me a couple, but I have to give most of the credit to Daddy.
One of the first tricks I learned was how to sit. Anyone can do that one. The second was to stay, and the third one was to heel. You probably think that those are more like commands instead of tricks. You're right, but I was as hardheaded learning how to do those few things as I was at learning real tricks.
My favorite trick to do is "Crazy Dog." That's when I roll on my back and shake my whole body. It's a easy trick and it makes my back feel good all over.
Another command that I know and that always impresses people is, "It Doesn't Concern You." The reason that this one impresses people so much is that there can be a dog, cat, mouse, or kid trying to get my attention, but I will ignore everything if they give me that command.
One trick that I just learned a few days ago is "High Five, Low Five" I learned that one when Daddy won the bet on a football game against Mamma. You do that one the same as I do, except I use a paw and you use your hand. That was probably one of the easiest tricks I ever learned.
Usually Daddy has to work with me for hours before I learn a new trick and do it on command. Some of the other tricks or commands I know: "Shake," "Open and Close Doors," "Roll-over," "Wave Goodbye, ""Get the Mouse," "Get the Fly," "Get the Bug," Bang-Dead-Dog." There are others, but I can't remember them right now.
As you can see, I'm a very smart dog as well as a very cute dog. It wouldn't be fair though, if you thought that this all came easy to me. It didn't. Daddy spent many hours teaching me each trick. I have a short attention span except when it comes to being petted.
One of my favorite games to play is "Pull." That's when you hold one end of a towel, or sock, or an old pant leg from a pair of jeans. I grab the other end and we pull until you give up. I always win even if more than one human takes a turn.
Another game that I like to do is "Kicking" or "Boxing," (I only play this one with Daddy) I know it sounds bad, but it's not. What I do is dodge Daddy's kicks by moving side to side. I always win because I'm too fast for him. Boxing is when he tries to slap me and I box back with my paws.
I almost forgot to tell you about my favorite game of all. I especially like to play this game with kids. What I do is get them down on the floor and start licking them in the face or the arms or legs. They get so tickled they can't get up. It's really fun, and the kids always come back for more.
Daddy came home from work one evening, and after a little while went back outside. I didn't know why at the time. A few minutes later he was bringing in these "kittens". He called Mamma into the back room where he had put the kittens.
Mamma said "Oh, how cute." Daddy just said, "It's too cold for them to be outside, they would freeze if I didn't bring them in."
Naturally I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, since it didn't have anything to do with me. I walked over to the kittens and started to smell them. It was a new smell to me. I lay down next to them to get a better look. The next thing I knew, they are crawling all over me and trying to nurse from me.
Well! I never had that happen to me before. (I hadn't had any puppies yet.) I thought it was really neat. Daddy went back outside and brought the mamma cat in. She wasn't sure what to think of me being so close to her kittens, but she was so tired and cold and hungry that she wasn't too worried. Besides, we had met a few times outside, and had gotten along okay. Mamma brought in a bowl of milk for the cat and she drank it.
I wanted some, but the mamma cat just kind of hissed at me, so I walked away and lay down and just watched her and the kittens snuggle up to each other.The next day Daddy took all of the kittens and the cat down to the shelter, to find good homes for them. For a long time I mostly ignored cats if they ignored me. Sometimes I wonder what happened to the kittens.
When Mamma tells people that story, they don't believe her. I think it's because people are afraid of me because of what some people have done to my breed of dog: fight them, feed them gunpowder so that the dog will get mean. If you ate gunpowder and had to lug a big tire around your neck and had people hit you with sticks, you would be mean too.
The next strange animal that I met was a horse. I thought it was a very big dog. We met at a Labor Day picnic.
Daddy, Mamma, and I all got in the car and drove for what seemed like forever. We came to this open field where some of Daddy's friends were. We all got out of the car and I went snooping around. I could smell that cows were close by. I have never been introduced to a cow, but I have seen and smelled them.
I was having fun playing in the grass, watching Mamma and Daddy play horseshoes with their friends. After everyone ate lunch, including me, I laid down in the shade for a nap. When I woke up, I went to see what Mamma was doing. As I got to Mamma, I smelled something new. I looked up and coming towards us was the biggest dog I had ever seen.
There was a man riding on top of the dog. When he came closer, he stopped and started to talk to Daddy. Well, like I said I had never seen a dog that big, so I was going to show my respect. I jumped up and gave him a kiss. Honest.
Everybody including the man on the big dog was startled. Daddy told the man that I had never seen a horse before.
I thought, "Horse." It's not a big dog, after all. I was glad to find out that it wasn't a dog because it smelled funny. The man and his horse left a few minutes later and Daddy came over and patted me on the head and told me that I was a good dog.
The next animal that I was introduced to was a rat. His name was "Chuckie". He was grayish-black with a long tail.
Chuckie came to live with us by way of Kay Anne, one of the kids. He was her pet. I thought "no problem." I had never seen a rat before; I had seen a mouse, but not a rat. I'm not sure what the difference is except that Chuckie was bigger than any mouse I ever saw and I was not allowed to chase him.. Mamma made it clear that this was a nice rat and that he was a "baby." Which means that I am not allowed to play rough with it.
Mamma let Chuckie out of his cage, if she or Kay Anne were around to watch him. Sometimes I would be lying on the floor and when Chuckie was out he would come over to me and walk on me. I thought that was pretty cool, until one day when Mamma was gone, Kay Anne had let Chuckie out of his cage and a friend of hers was holding Chuckie. I went over to say hi to Chuckie, when all of a sudden he bit me on the nose. All I did was yelp a little and walk away.
They put Chuckie back in his cage and checked to see how bad I was hurt. My feelings were hurt more than anything because I thought that Chuckie and I were friends. I didn't have much to do with Chuckie after that.
A Guinea Pig was the next animal that I met. His name was Tiny. We got along well. He never bit me. When they would let him out of his cage, he would come and sniff at my nose. I would lick him until he was soaked.
The strangest animal that I ever met was a lizard. He was a Cuban Anole lizard. If Mamma got close to his cage he would blow his chin up at her. They never let him out of his cage, because he was wild and not friendly at all.
I remember Mamma helping fix up the closet where I would have my puppies at. When it came time for the puppies to come, Mamma was right there to help me. I don't remember it hurting at all. But I do remember having to clean them all off. Mamma helped a little there, too.
After I had the puppies, Mamma moved me and them into my regular room, with fresh blankets all around. The first week I didn't mind being left alone with them, but after that I wanted to be with Mamma and Daddy. They would practically drag me into the room to feed the puppies. As long as Mamma stayed with me I wouldn't mind. But as soon as she left, I wanted to leave too. After the puppies were six weeks old, their new Mammas and Daddies came and got them.
Now I don't have any puppies to worry about so I can spend all my time taking care of my humans and the new people I meet. I always wonder what adventures are ahead for me. Maybe I will get to meet you. Just watch out for my big wet tongue.
