Cheese Dogs

Thursday we flew into Portland, Oregon in advance of my niece's wedding in Corvallis on Saturday. We toured the Willamette Valley, tasting wines and taking in the bucolic landscape of the region. For a change of pace, a visit to the Willamette Valley Cheese Company seemed fitting. We passed the milking shed as we drove down the access road to the tasting room. Once out of the car, a trio of dogs—two labs and an australian shepherd—greeted us.

While others tasted cheese, I talked to the dogs... obviously needing my dog fix. I called them Chocolate, Licorice and Salt & Pepper. Chocolate looked remarkably like our Brandy. What is it about chocolate labs? They all seem to look and act alike. Gave him a pet on the head and he muzzled into my crotch wanting more.

Now Licorice was friendly, but she seemed to be distracted. She sat facing the road with a longing look. Perhaps her master was away and she waited for his return.

Then there was Salt and Pepper. Being the herder in the group, she bounced around from person to person, grabbed a toy, dropped the toy, competed for attention or simply rolled on her back as if to beg for a tummy rub.

As our group headed back to the car, a cow stuck her head through the milking shed fence and barked like a dog. It caused us to pause and look while she did it again. We laughed as we puzzled over why she would do such a strange thing ...or how she would make such a strange sound? Maybe she thought she was just another cheese dog.