My little dog Tazzie loves to play, and in particular,
she loves to play with things... be they toys, sticks,
rocks, and yes, even spiders. I've often seen her
take a small stick or piece of fabric in her mouth, and
then watched her repeatedly toss it in the air, chase it
and repeat the entire process. It is a joy to have such
a playful little pup for sure...

On the rare occasion when her object of desire should
happen to fall between the cracks, behind the sofa, or
just out of her reach... she will stand there and bark
at the object as though through her voice commands alone
she could will the object out of hiding. And, I have to
admit that it works quite well for her. She barks, and I
retrieve. I guess I am very well trained.

Well, on this day, Tazzie was barking at a corner where she
could not gain access. I walked over and looked to find the
lost toy, and couldn't see anything... no balls, no stuffed
animals, no rocks, no sticks, just nothing. I walked away
and she persisted to go crazy at the corner. Since, of course,
Tazzie really does call all of the shots, I dutifully returned
to inspect the situation... I did see, in a dark corner, a little
wad of something... I thought perhaps it was a bit of chewed on
stick that she had been playing with. I reached back and picked
it up, and when I realized that I had just lifted up a big squiggly
hairy spider and still had it in my hand... well, I have to admit
that my world came completely unglued, even if only for a moment.
Screams such as you've never heard... weird shaking gyrations...

Ahhh, life with a pup is certainly good.