I have told you about snacks that I have with my pack. There are times when I get snacks that are just mine.

    At 10 a.m. I must have a doggy snack. I like it to be big puppy cookies. People think they look like bones. I have heard them called dog biscuits. I like the words “Puppy Cookie” better.

    When I get my 10 a.m. cookie, I do not always eat it. I wait until no one is watching then I sneak out my puppy door and find a nice place to hide it. Puppy cookies hide very nicely in the ivy and other ground covers that are in my yard. When there is room, I don’t have to get my nose dirty or anything. I make a hole by pushing the leaves aside then I just drop the puppy cookie in place! The next part is more difficult. The leaves MUST be placed back in their original place. I do this with my nose, a push this way, a push that way. If someone were to see a leaf out of place, they could find my puppy cookie.

   Now if the ground cover is full of puppy cookies the new one must be buried elsewhere. This involves getting dirty. I don’t mind though. I have a job to do for my pack. If we are ever hungry, all those puppy cookies will be waiting for us. First I dig a hole. Lain gets upset if I dig just anywhere. I find it best to dig over where the deer used to sleep. You know, before the big fence was put up? The other way to choose a digging place is to make sure Lain is not watching. Then I can dig anywhere! The hole is carefully dug with my front feet. Bassets have great digging feet. Our nails are longer than other dogs and we have toes. (Yeah, we do have toes. Look next time you see me.) Our toes are webbed. Digging is one of the things we do best. Well, after the hole is just right, I drop the puppy cookie in. I have seen Lain do this with things she calls seeds. She gets tomatoes and radishes that way. Do you think I will get a puppy cookie tree some day? Now that the cookie is in place, I can cover it with dirt. This is the messy part. A push this way and a push that way, time after time after time just to get it covered! A dog’s work is hard. But I don’t mind. Someday that tree might grow.

    Sometimes it rains where we live. All winter it rains where we live. Puppy cookies do not do well in the rain. They get soggy. Sometimes they stink and fall apart. I’ve figured out the prefect hiding places for winter puppy cookies. I put them under beds, couches, chairs (even dining room chairs) and in the dirty clothes on wash day when Lain is making piles of dirty clothes. She does find these ones though! If someone leaves a paper bag on the floor, I can hide puppy cookies there. Shoes are a good place if they are not in the closet or the closet is open. If someone walks by a hiding place, the puppy cookie must be moved. They could smell the good sniff and come back to steal it. If the cookie is buried in dirt, moving it gets messy again. The ones buried in the ivy are much easier to handle.

    I get small puppy cookies when Bob and Lain are going to be gone for a long time. I might get three of them at one time! I just eat them. I don’t think the small ones would do my pack much good.

    I get the chance to have my own puppy cookies and be creative in hiding them. I also get points for making people laugh.

I’ve got sniffing to do. Talk to you later,
Emma Basset