Roscoe Remembers

as told by Roscoe Aucoin

Something is different. In fact, there has been a lot of somethings different recently. It makes me wonder what Mom has been doing.

  First, we were at home in the Colorado mountains. Life was good except in the really bad weather when my feet froze in the snow. On those days, after doing my business, I hopped to the door on three feet. That kept all four of them from freezing. Then I stood on the steps and shivered until Mom opened the door and let me inside. She was usually watching, but sometimes, I had to bang on the door a little. Have to keep her trained, you know.

  The cold bothered my hip a little too - it has been stiff ever since that big white thing drove over me and sent me to the hospital when I was a puppy. Boy, that was a bad experience. I don’t remember much about it other than we both cried. But Mom got me through it. She even took me to her meetings when I was in a cast so I wouldn’t be home by myself. But, I digress.

  Several days ago, Mom got really grouchy and started moving stuff around. She took my heating pad off the bed and packed it in a box. Then she took my toys and put them in a box too. People came and everything went into a big white truck with UHaul written on the side. Me, Jetta, the black lab who looks out for me sometimes, and Guinn the black cat that I like to chase, all jumped into the big white truck and started down the road. Boy, it took a long time to get where we were going, and the trip was all different.

We drove all day and all night. The next morning we stopped at a place where it was warm and there was a sign on the grass that said, “Watch for snakes.” That must have freaked Mom out because she went to yelling at me and Jetta. She grabbed me before I could finish my business and threw me in the big white truck and we started driving again. Soon we came to my Aunt Diann’s house. My cousin Sherman lives there too, and we had fun together. He is the same kind of dog I am, so we act just alike.

After a couple days we all had to get back in the big white truck, but this time the ride was much shorter.

  We got to a new place where there is green grass on the ground and there is no snow. When I go out to do my business it feels so good to not have my feet freeze. I can run around and stay out as long as I want, but Mom keeps watching me and calling me if I wander too far away. I wonder if she is trying to train me to stay in the yard? Oh well, we’ll see who wins that battle.

  Mom almost forgot the cat, Guinn, and almost left the fat old thing in the big white truck. She remembered at the last minute, though, and grabbed the cat and threw him into the house.

  Aunt Diann and cousin Sherman came with us to the new house. They stayed and kept me company for almost a week. Mom would come home from work and Aunt Diann had unpacked boxes and hung pictures on the wall. It made a lot of noise, but it put Mom in a good mood. I always kiss Mom so she will be in a good mood. Jetta doesn’t kiss much, she just jumps in place and whines. That big old dog just does not have the same charming personality that we Boston Terrier’s have.

  I have been enjoying our new house. I do not miss the snow at all, and I do not miss the cold weather either. At our old house I would shiver and shake, even when I was inside. That is why Mom got me a heating pad of my own. Guess I trained her really well, huh?

At our new house we have dinner and Mom shares with me, just like always. After dinner Mom watches television but Jetta and I mostly snooze. We look forward to going out at night to do our business because after we do, good things happen.

  Mom always gets a bowl of Blue Bell Ice Cream. She and Aunt Diann like Banana Split, and they always let me lick the bowl. That is good stuff. I try not to get gas from it, because if I start fouling up the air, Mom will not let me have any more. I will have to be careful.

  Yep, I think this new place is gonna work out just fine. Me, Jetta, Guinn and Mom all sleep in in the same bed, just like we did at the old house, and I have nice warm weather, soft green grass, and Blue Bell Ice Cream. I hope we don’t have to get back in that big white truck again for a long long time.

  Note: Roscoe is a remarkable Boston Terrier owned by Clara Aucoin the new staff writer at the Courier. This is a story of the family’s move to the South as seen through his bulging eyes.