Each day at 9 a.m. my nerves tie up, my neck stiffens, my back is absolutely straight and the curls on my back extended to their maximum! I am ready, listening to every sound; I listen for my neighbor dogs signaling system that we cleverly set up alerting all other dogs in the neighborhood about the Mailman’s arrival long before I can actually hear him myself. Is he coming? Is he coming now or later? Will I be the first to alert the other dogs of his arrival? Will he come to our door delivering a packet to my mom (usually from Amazon.com) or will he just put bills in the mailbox? As soon as I get the slightest sense that he might be coming I rush to my favorite window where I stand on my two strong back legs, my front legs pulling on the windows sill, stretching my neck to its fullest, pressing my cold nose against the windowpane in anticipation that I might get a glance of the mailman before he arrives. 

Suddenly my neighbor and dear friend “Danger”, the big black Rottweiler, starts barking, signaling the mailman's arrival and there he is, I see it is my favorite mailman Henry! I start joining Danger, I bark like a "crazy dog", barking as high as my vocals allow, almost hauling! I have to stop for a second, filling my lungs with air again and then I continue barking. My mom is apparently with me because she is barking to (or so I believe) as she is telling me to be quiet. My dad joins in, barking much in the same way as mom, not a real bark because it sounds more like “be quiet” but it will do. So there we are, all three of us barking! I run towards the door, the adrenalin rush makes my heart beat faster than a drum roll at Circus, I am way ahead of my mom and have to put the breaks on, sliding and backpedaling the last six feet towards the door in order to not crash into it but I made it, now faithfully waiting for mom or dad! What is keeping them so long? I am much faster than my two legged pack members that joins me at the door almost a minute after I reached it. My mom tells me to "sit"(!), a command I know well because it us usually followed by an irresistible dog treat, so I immediately sit and I am quiet (I know the rules, no treat if I am barking). The door opens and there is Henry the Mailman, and yes he has a packet for mom, from Amazon.com (mom’s favorite site on the Internet). The door closes and it is over for today and … well, I did not get a treat, because I was barking mom said, but it was worth it, today’s excitement nevertheless! Hmm…I wonder, maybe the UPS guy will be here in the afternoon???...

What can be more wonderful after an exhausting day, filled of exciting moments such as my morning run with dad (imagining I am on an expedition hunting for prey) and the obligatory once a day frantic barking at the mailman, than to happily crawl through the perfectly sized opening into my cozy and wonderfully crafted (sorry, should be…willfully copied…) mass-produced plastic crate, imported from China? It is in my mind the most beautiful creation of two molded gray plastic halves with screws on the sides to hold the two halves together, much like two gigantic shoeboxes where one is put upside down on top of the other and glued together in the middle with an opening cut out in one of the short ends. 

The crate gives a bachelor male poodle like me a private hideaway and penthouse with a sturdy roof over my head. Inside the crate there is plenty of room for me and my most precious must have dog toys, such my favorite chewy bone and the essential breath refreshing gum sanitizer. I have a cozy and soft wool pad on the floor to keep me warm when resting. However, mom wrapped the pad in a scratch resistant fleece blanket because I always carefully prepare myself for resting by walking in a circle inside the crate pushing down and scratching away the (imaginary) tall grass that are in the way of having a restful nights sleep and I got through two of the wool pads before mom had the idea of wrapping the pad in the fleece blanket. Now I can scratch as much as I want and no real damage occurs (just shredding a few blankets a year but they are much cheaper than the pads says mom). 

My crate is also my dear travel companion. Wherever I go with mom and dad I have to bring my crate, it is like bringing a peace of safety with me. Nothing can happen to me in the protection of my crate. However, I once traveled for a day without my crate (the airline temporarily lost it) and I will never do that again! I cried all night because I could not find rest when I did not know if my crate was safe. Next time I will be inside the crate all the time. If it gets lost I will at least be where my crate is! I am also in the crate (belted in the backset) when driving with mom and dad. I heard that child seats have to have a child safety rating. I am pretty sure my crate has that rating too but it is poodle safety rated. I think it says it is safe for poodles up to 10 pounds... 

Well it is almost naptime I will end this blog now and waddle down to my crate, push down the “grass” by wondering in a circle for a minute or so as usual, scratch my pad a little, settle down and get to sleep on my back with my legs in the air in resting position, as always! Nighty nighty!