It was a rainy Sunday morning. I was downstairs, snoozing on the couch and dreaming of a time when I was a little pooch and my owner Kim had taken me to a place called The Park. I remember being overwhelmed by all the amazing smells and vast open space. It was so big, I couldn’t even see to the other side.
Kim and I walked along a squiggly path that weaved its way through the trees. Every so often I would race off to sniff a flower or the base of a tree. The sun was shining. It was a fabulous day and I was so very excited and happy to be experiencing the great outdoors. While nibbling on a tasty twig I’d found beneath a giant Elm tree, a round green thing rolled up and came to a dead stop right at my left paw. As I stretched out my nose to give it a whiff, a huge fluffy dog bounded up and said,
“Hello. I’m Roger. What’s your name?”
“BB”, I woofed.
“Nice to meet you BB. Wanna come join me and my friends for a play?” barked Roger while tipping his nose toward a group of dogs all congregating around a muddy, wee patch.
“Ah. You mean play with those big dogs way over there?”
“Sure, c‘mon! I’ll introduce you to the gang,” drooled Roger, as he scooped up the ball in his mouth. “Don’t worry. They’re all great pals of mine. I’ll look after ya.”
I looked over to Kim, who was waving her hand, enticing me to follow Roger who had taken off and was half way towards the pack, looking back to see if I was running after him. I made my way over and was instantly surrounded by dogs of all shapes and sizes.
“Hi, my name’s Zed.”
“I’m Felix.”
“Buster”, quipped a voice from somewhere out the back.
“G’day mate, I’m Ted”, woofed a rather scruffy little, grey poodle.
“And I’m Honey”, cooed a small golden terrier cross.
And on it went till I had been introduced to all of Roger’s friends. Within a few minutes I was playing chasey, biting at Buster’s heels and driving Kim crazy by sliding across the makeshift bog the boys had dug after the recent rains. This was my first group play and I was going to make the most of it. Several weeks later I had 8 new friends. Sometimes I would stay at Honey’s place and play for hours and hours until we couldn’t lift a paw.
I had made my first friends…but when we left the park I wondered whether I would see them again.
Anyway, here I was, lying on the couch, my human pals had all gone out and I was reminiscing about bygone days and old friends when this flash of light filled the room. It was a thunderstorm and the lightening outside had come very close to the window facing the street. I jumped up and looked outside. It was raining cats and dogs! Cars were zipping about the grey, wet road while people scurried about holding those big, dry roof things they carry when it rains. It was then that I saw Wilbur, Zed and Buffy dragging their owners toward the park. How I wished I could get out and go with them. How I wanted to breathe in the fresh air, run through the puddles, smell the crisp wet grass and remove this awful perfumed scent I’d gained from yesterday’s visit to Woolfies where I was bathed and clipped and pampered. Don’t get me wrong, the folks at Woolfies are the best. It’s just the smell afterwards. I can’t stand myself for days!
I lay back down and wondered; how lucky my human pals are to be able to arrange outings whenever they feel like it. How easy it is for them to catch up with their friends whenever they want and how good it would be if I could contact any of my buddies or they could contact me so we could meet up whenever we wanted….and then, at that very moment, as another crack of thunder exploded outside, I had a Dogiphany!
I’d heard my human companions Jerry and Kim talking with their friends about all these new hand-held devices called mobile phones (not bones!) and cool stuff called apps that they use to connect to each other and get in touch and… That’s it! I’m going to make an app for us dogs! An app that makes it easier for our human pals to manage our lives and get in touch with our buddies so we can meet up whenever we head out to the park, beach, cafe or….whatever.
This app will make it easier for Jerry, Kim and all their other dog people friends to connect and arrange play times for me and all my barkin’ buddies. No more turning up to Highfield Park and being the only dog there. No more trips to the cafe with Kim and sitting alone on the ground while she chats with her friends. No more getting excited when turning up to the beach, only to search in vain for a buddy or two.
This app would liberate dogs everywhere. But what will I call it? And then it came to me, like a bowl of fresh kibble.
BB!
I’ll name it after me but call it Barkin’ Buddy! Way Cool!
Hmmmm….But how am I going to let my human companions know about it? What am I going to do?
So, the very next day, when Kim and Jerry took me to the park, I raced out and told all my buddies about this new, exciting idea. The response was awesome! Every one of us was leaping about. Running here and there, barking wildly while our human pals looked on in disbelief. Jerry picked me up.
“What’s going on little buddy? Sumthin’ you wanna tell me? Why are all you guys going crazy?”
I looked into Jerry’s eyes and gave him the long dog stare and in that moment sent him a ‘Dogwave’ (that’s our term for when we connect with our human pals and send them a message they can understand like – “I’m hungry!”) and he looked back and said, “No way? What a great idea I’ve just had!”
Kim rushed up as Jerry put me back on the ground.
“What is it darling?”
“Not sure. But I think I’ve just come up with a fantastic app idea for dogs!”
And that’s how it happened. It’s no secret to us, or our feline friends, that we’re able to send messages to humans in the most subtle way and make them believe it was their idea to go for a walk or run down the beach. So, to all you dog loving human pals, use Barkin’ Buddy in honour of your furry friends to help make their lives a little easier, and yours too! And remember, if you wonder why it’s not designed for cats, well we talked with our other buddies and they said they don’t need it.
“We don’t go for walks. We don’t meet at parks or beaches and we meow our heads off when we want anything. Besides that, we don’t really socialise with other felines – we like our own company and don’t mind being on our own ‘til dinner time.”
And if you don’t believe me, then try taking a cat to the local park, drop a ball in front of them and see what they do. I really hope you enjoy this app made for dogs and use it to bring your little companions’ friends together more often.
BB
xx waggy tails forever
Let Your Friends Know!