Lady and the heating-oil guys

HERE'S LADY RUNNING BEHIND A BOXER AT THE
DOG PARK. NOTICE THAT THE TAIL'S UP; SHE'S HAPPY.

We got heating oil today, and Lady wasn't happy. She didn't bark, but she walked around with her tail down as the oil guys came in the house to light the pilot light. She was curious, but she wasn't particularly friendly with them.

Maybe she didn't like the smell of oil on their clothes. Or maybe she just didn't like having them in the house. But she remained quiet while they were here, and soon they were gone.

Another heating-oil guy showed up today (Jan. 8), and Lady wouldn't get close enough so he could pet her. She barked at him when he was outside, but she remained quiet when he was inside. Of course, I was there.

Note: What's the big deal with the tail? If she's happy, that tail is curled up. When she's "at work" or alert (or unhappy when getting a bath), it's down.

Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

More entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 12-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!