Austin with bone 1

Alayne saw blind Austin digging a hole in the gravel so he could bury a soft chew toy shaped like a bone.  She went to get the camera, but as soon as he heard Alayne walk up near him, he pulled the toy bone out of the hole and took off.  She followed him around the yard, bone in his mouth, as he sought a new spot to hide the bone in.  (Apparently he thought Alayne might try to steal his bone, for reasons still unclear to us.) 

At one point, thinking he had thrown her off his trail, he stopped to bury the bone in the tall grass underneath a cottonwood sapling:

Austin with bone 3

But then he heard Alayne again — "Dang, I just can't shake this woman!" — so he grabbed the bone and headed out across the yard again:

Austin with bone 2

Finally — perhaps thinking that if he showed he didn't care about the bone any longer, maybe she wouldn't want it — he laid the bone down and wandered off nonchalantly.

Alayne picked it up and carefully put it back in the hole Austin had originally started digging for his bone when she first saw him:

Austin with bone 4

That evening we held a refresher class in our popular "Burying Bones 101" course, with special emphasis on the first module — Choosing The Right Bone For The Job.

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6 responses to “Right Idea, Wrong Bone”

  1. Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin Avatar
    Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin

    That is hilarious! I am laughing out loud! I suppose to all dogs a bone is a bone as long as it can be buried in a secret hiding place.
    I know you all don’t watch much TV but there is a Travelers Insurance commercial that’s been on recently. This story immediately reminded me of it because it’s so darn cute. It is all about a dog trying to find the best place to keep his bone safe. The finale is he puts it back in the original spot but a little red umbrella is over the spot & he finally is able to rest easy that his prized possession is protected.

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  2. Angela Avatar
    Angela

    HA – I sure hope Austin gets over his frustration!-and refinds the less than ideal bone. There is also a commercial, I think for an investment company, in which an adorable little dog that look like a JRT mix brings several bones to his true love before she accepts him/it. Such longing in his little face.

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  3. Moon Rani Avatar
    Moon Rani

    It’s the last picture that makes this post, for me; it’s great!

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  4. Jessica, NL Avatar
    Jessica, NL

    hahaha, just went to see Ice Age 3 yesterday….guess who Austin reminds me of??

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  5. boundforglory Avatar
    boundforglory

    ADORABLE!!
    Austin gets an A from me without even taking the Bone 101 class.

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  6. MaryJane Cooper Avatar
    MaryJane Cooper

    One of the Dachshunds in our family was named Walter, and he loved his hotdogs; if they were cut up, he would eat them; if they weren’t cut up, he would walk the yard looking for various places to bury them. He would always look around to see who might be watching before he let go of the hotdog. It was so very funny when he would look around every which way before he decided no one was watching 🙂
    R.I.P., our beloved Walter.

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