5/1/2009
About Mr. Bornstein: this little doggie is hilarious. It’s hard to imagine that anyone could have let him go at all, especially to a shelter that was overcrowded. He must have been terrified. Although he is fearless amidst our four big dogs, which is quite a funny sight.
He has bonded to me, and so has decided that he needs to sleep by my side of the bed. And how convenient that there is a nice cushy dog bed right there! (He is oblivious to the fact that that bed belongs to Leo, a large black lab. Leo is not thrilled, but he does have another bed on the other side which he lumbers off to it when Mr. Bornstein takes his (new) regular spot. Leo is a good boy.)
The fact that he is hard of hearing makes for easy mornings. We can get up and around without his waking. So we get coffee before he needs to be fed or let out. The others are hardly quiet, but their raucousness doesn’t wake him. He can sleep very soundly in the middle of the kitchen (this time in a cat bed that belongs to an enormous black cat named Pishy) while the rest of them run and bark and clamor. He just snoozes away. (Pish is clearly cheesed, nevertheless she lets him have the bed.)
Mr. Bornstein has been making cameos all over Cape May, and has won many friends. He is a sometime counter clerk at a charming shop called Nest. He already has many fans there, and the owner of the store loves his company. He is also a good icebreaker in social situations. At Petsmart, he was a big hit all around. On our first visit, he was riding in the cart with a stuffed animal toy in his mouth, and nearly every customer stopped to talk to him. They couldn’t tell that he is hard of hearing, as he was wagging his stumpy tail and looking up at them adoringly. The man can work a room.
Mr. Bornstein is a model for us all. In hard times, he remains cheerful and playful. These attributes no doubt charmed the rescuers and saved his life.He is easy to please and happy to be here. He loves to walk around downtown Cape May with my mother, and he is very well behaved on his leash, so she can handle him easily. He stops to greet most everyone, and we believe he may have it in mind to run for mayor. He definitely would be easily bribed, though, so we won’t be voting for him. A little duck jerky or a bouncy ball and his integrity would go right out the window. He is really meant to just retire and relax at our house with the other cats and dogs and take advantage of their ample beds. Luckily, they are kids that came from bad situations once too, and they are willing to share with the little stumpy tailed guy who just got here.
Ellen