I could lie here forever - on my back - paws up - on this wide open bed - the late night breeze nuzzling my pink, naked belly. Warm, drowsy summer nights cure me.  As each night passes, I forget a little more of the old days. Memories of long, lonely days dragging by in confinement, never ending contradictory rules, isolation, and depressing loneliness get fuzzier.

I can smell the whole of the world as it floats past in the dark. Some of the smells are amazing. Some of them not so much. Some of them I know what they are from but I don't know what to call them. Smells of the earth, I guess. The result of sunshine and rain, BBQ meat, perfume and car exhaust. And cheese. I can always smell cheese.  I can smell cheese before it's even made. It'as an almost 100% true fact that i can smell at least 100xs better than humans. at least 100xs, if not more.

I take a deep breath and pull the air in through my long nose. The rabies and registration tags on my harness jingle as my chest rises. My mocha coloed nose quivers back and forth, assessing each scent molecule as it flows through my head, on the way to the back of my throat. 

Tonight is peaceful.  It is summer and feels like it will never end. The air is heavy and drags heavily across my nose. It's thick with dust, pollen, wet dirt from the sprinklers, garbage cans and flowers. It smells good, satisfying and solid.

Michael went to bed a long time ago. Diana couldn't sleep so we are in the Girl Room tonight on my bed. Michael has to be up early and it's best for all if we don't wake him. Shortly after midnight Diana and I finished our book and crashed. The neighbor lady is done yelling at her family and closed her big door, hiding her car. The man next door finished watching TV for the night and stubbed out his final smoke on his porch. The silvery smoke floated up - interfering with my home range scent surveying. The street light turns itself off - darkening most of the street - waiting for something to happen or pass by so it can turn its nosy self back on. 

Diana keeps flipping and flopping. She's not very good at sleeping. I don't understand this as a concept or as a reality. It's not that hard. You lie down and go to sleep. I sleep all the time. Sleeping is one of my best skills.

She just can't be still.  So annoying. She has no clue just how much this bugs the heck out of me. Flipping and flopping - interfering with my musings. I din't get to be be the grand champion napper that I am, with such amazing good looks I might add, on just a few short hours of flippy-floppy sleep. No, even though I make it look easy, it takes practice to achieve this restful perfection. I put the time in and it shows. Sleep helps me be me.

Diana (I call her Mom. Makes her happy and is no fur off my back) knows this. She gets me.  her kind heart lets me be me. Since I came to live here, I get to bark, and bark and bark and...well, you get the picture. Here, at this house, I go outside every night after dinner, read the local news on the trees, greet the local humans, and keep generally keep track of stuff. 

What stuff you ask?

You know, just dog stuff. Subliminal, newsy kind of stuff that dogs just know about.  Stuff humans don't even have a clue exists.

I have many years of dog living to make up for. I didn't have a very good puppy-hood. I don't like to talk about that time, so don't ask and for dog's sake don't feel sorry for me. I try to keep forward focused.  It helps that I have a three second memory for most things, but I don't want to think back to my original human family time. 

I am Leola.  I am amazing.  I am Sasha's friend.  She is scared of me.  Why?