Imagine a dog with more intelligence and curiosity than sense and you have our chow chow, known to Facebook friends as Roofdog due to his exploration of a neighbor's rooftop.  We are lucky he doesn't have thumbs; his fascination with locks coupled with his escape artist abilities would make him a danger to refrigerators everywhere.  Unfortunately for our budget, Roofdog suffers from extreme klutzdom, both social and physical.

Due to being attacked by a killer Chihuahua when he was a puppy, Roofdog believes that the proper way to greet other animals (canine and otherwise) is embodied in Johnny Cash's song , "A Boy Named Sue."  I.e., he loudly barks something equivalent to "Hello.  My name is Sue.  How do you do?  I'm going to kill you."  Expenses, one vet bill and private lessons with a dog trainer.

Add to that the slight problem of not understanding corners or velocity and regular dog collisions with doors, lawn objects and people result.  Victims thus far: a set of solar lights, a screen door and two trees.

And why is Roofdog wearing a tire around his neck?  This brings us to his latest adventure: how Roofdog deals with an ear itch - scratch it until the ear swells up and flops over.  Vet bill - $400.  The blue tire is an inflatable alternative to the notorious Elizabethan or cone collar.  Neither is perfect.  We have one dog who was flexible enough to bend around her cone collar and chew the itch on her hind leg.  The solution at that time - a larger cone - forced us to tape her food and water dishes to the tops of coffee cans filled with pebbles.  On the other hand, Roofdog's blue tire lasted about twelve hours before he snuck in a scratch that left six holes in the sucker. Mick and I spent at least an hour getting red in the face before we figured out how to get air into the tire.

Other than cost, Roofdog's faults have a major downside: schedule demolition.  This week I planned to do some more deflooring; instead I am watching the dog to keep toenails from meeting tire again.  Creativity for writing?  Used up trying to figure out a way to patch the blue tire.  Luckily, like one's child, Roofdog is cute just enough to survive.  I guess writing can wait another week.