Escaped dog

 

January 15, 1999

 

 I was high as hell on fumes when the dog slipped out.

 Over the years my resistance to paint fumes and other such chemicals has declined so that even a brief whiff sends me crazy, and here, Sharon was doing over the floors with glaze sending me into orbit.

 Ben had come over to study our plumbing and brought his dog with him.

 AHe=s a bit skittish,@ Ben told us as he gave us a lecture about our heat, showing us where this went and what that did so that we weren't the typical ignorant homeowners we were previously. Since Sharon had specific questions she wanted answered, I asked her to go downstairs to talk to Ben for a while.

 AWhat about him?@ she asked, indicating the dog, a large mixbreed Ben had obtained via the Internet after someone in Central Jersey had found the beast wandering along the Garden State Parkway. I didn't know he was a runaway until later when it was too late, although