I woke up to a warm glow of sunlight seeping through the window. As I groggily lifted my head, I noticed two people were already awake. Suddenly, the familiar scent of chicken made its way into my nose - I was now fully alert. As I trotted along, the aroma gradually became stronger until I reached my bowl. As I peered into the magical device, I finally saw it - kibble? I chuffed away disappointedly, expecting a more complex cuisine like the hibachi meal I licked clean last night. I jumped on my hind legs to start dancing - people seemed to love it. No response. I jumped a little higher and whimpered, getting a little agitated. “You already have food,” they told me. Obviously. But I could not accept this inferior food when I could be enjoying fresh beef or grilled salmon. Did I mention I’m a dog?

After more begging and nagging, I finally became tired and reluctantly ate the boring food. As I forced the last of it down, I heard some tumbling from upstairs, noticing my favorite person (who responds to some strange call that sounds like nee-coh) rushing to the door. This was typical most mornings, for some reason I don’t know. I trudged back toward my kennel when I had a sudden urge to go outside. Another person let me out to relieve myself when something blurred out of the corner of my eye. Heart racing and adrenaline pumping, I took off for the intruder. I practically nipped at the tail before I was tugged back in annoyance. Why couldn’t I catch a present for my favorite person?

I trotted back inside and decided to take a nap. All I could picture was last night’s dinner and even how tasty the rabbit could’ve been. Then, when I woke up, I had an idea. Since everyone else was busy, I sneaked into the kitchen and caught sight of some food in the garbage that smelled suspiciously similar to chicken. I investigated closer and sure enough, it was. Without a moment of hesitation, I passionately rummaged through the rubbish and licked up the scraps. It wasn’t amazing, but it sure was better than the kibble. Unfortunately, I might’ve been a little loud about this since someone noticed and scolded me for this.

He might’ve felt bad about this later though, since he gave me a nice, long belly rub that always makes up for kibble. It would’ve lasted forever until an intruder knocked on the door, putting me in a crazed frenzy of running and barking. The people casually mentioned “a delivery;” how could they not be worried a stranger was intruding our territory?! I secured the perimeter one last time for good measure to ensure everyone was safe. I felt proud of defending our home, and decided it would be a great time to destroy one of my toys. I picked up a koala toy and shook the literal stuffing out of it among snarling and pouncing when I lost grip. Let this be a warning to any future trespassers.

It seemed the intruder had returned again. I was about to teach him another lesson when I realized my favorite person was back. I was beside myself. I did a little jig to show him how clearly ecstatic I was, and tried to explain how my day went. Too bad it came out mostly as panting and lots of licks.

It was soon time for dinner again, and this time my meal included some chewy, mouth-watering salmon treats with grilled chicken that delighted (and definitely did not spoil) me. I affectionately high-fived one of the people, which charmed them into allowing a couple more treats. It works every time.

I spent the rest of the day watching outside to guard, and accompanying my people in the strange activities they did. Eventually I snuggled back into my kennel for bed, but not before giving everyone one last kiss in the face. My name is Bailey, and thanks for tuning in to read a bit about my adventurous life.