Little food snatcher

I recall Dodo used to be a highly efficient food snatcher.

If we happened to drop any food on the floor, she would run over in an unbelievably short time and would make off with the food in her mouth. Her reflexes were extremely fast.

At our old place, she would then hide under the king-sized bed where it was difficult to reach her unless we got down on all fours and crawled under the bed. The big bed was her safe haven, and she would be under it enjoying her spoils. Under the big bed on all fours, we were slow and clumsy while she was fast and agile. Most times, she avoided capture.

Even in the few times we ventured under the bed and managed to catch hold of her, it was a challenge trying to remove anything from her jaws. She would growl, bare her teeth and would bite tightly onto the food and simply refuse to let go. Our success rate was dismally low. In the end, I think it got so bad that we just gave up totally.

We were thankful that she was a small dog and hence unable to reach any food on the table without standing on the chairs. As long as we were mindful to move away the chairs whenever there was food on the table, things were ok. I suspected perhaps she was constantly hungry back then due to her high metabolic rate – she was hyper-active till she entered seniorhood.

At our current place, I was relieved we did not have a king-sized bed where she could hide under and was safe from the law and punishment. Somehow, maybe age caught up with her. It became easier to remove food from her jaws. She still resisted but was not as defensive as she used to be. Her reflexes were also slower and she was unable to run as fast. For once, we were able to outrun and corner her.

In recent years, we have not seen the little food snatcher at all. In her place is a wise canine elder who will guide us to the fridge whenever she wants food. A smart girl – she knows that all her favourite snacks are in the fridge and all she has to do is ask (or rather, bark) and wag her little tail.

Dodo's jie-jie