Poem #8- "There once was a puppy who piddled…"

 

Anyone who has raised a puppy will tell you that one of the first things you have to do is housebreak them. Service dogs are no different, with the major exception being that you have to take them places while you are potty training them. Rooney was actually really easy to housebreak, and he generally did a great job, even out in public. There were however, a few notable exceptions. The last day of school (actually four days after I got him), a dear friend and former colleague came to visit me in my classroom. We were standing out in the hall talking to some other friends, and all of sudden, Rooney squatted. I felt like a terrible mother when I realized it had been almost two hours since he had been out. Later that summer, I took him to the Scholastic Reading Summit. Roo had a great day, and actually spent a good part of the day cradled in the Scholastic President's arms. After the final keynote, we were crossing the lobby, actually about six feet from the front door, and Rooney couldn't hold it any more. He squatted and left a  puddle the size of a small lake. And then there was the pooping incident at Best Buy..

A silly subject calls for a silly format, so I went with limericks, or at least kind of limericks....

Rooney, late June, 2019

There once was a puppy who piddled,

In the hallway, right in the middle, 

It was the last day of school,

And his bladder was full,

His mama should’ve known he was little. 

There once was a puppy who pottied

At the Reading Summit, while teachers plotted,

He tried hard to wait,

But his mom was too late, 

And so in the lobby he squatted.

There once was a puppy who pooped,

At a Best Buy, while his mom made the loop,

He whined and complained,

No one noticed his pain,

And so brown lumps they did scoop.