Reunited, and it smells so foul

The family diaspora finally came to an end late last week when a very large, windowless truck pulled up. . . and out came the dogs. They had been bouncing from home to home in North Carolina since we left Red State America in November. And they seem no worse for wear, although they are wilder than I remember. No surprise there, since they spent the last two weeks in a truck.
(Their Aunt Elizabeth didn't want them flying, which I can understand.)

Now we know what Oregon smells like in the winter: Wet dog. These beasts smelled nasty enough in a dry place. Here where it's moist and fertile (heh-heh, that sounds dirty!), they're absolutely disgusting.

But the family is back together, which is apparently what counts. The Boy walks around these days saying, "Dahg, dahg, dahg," over and over again. And the house does feel safer. After all, we have two canine superheroes in our midst. You might have seen their show back in the days when we all sat around watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating Cap'in Crunch: "The Adventures of StinkyPee and BiteyMouth."

StinkyPee, otherwise known as BigDog, has the ability to produce supernaturally smelly urine when in stressful situations. That's useful for scaring off bad guys, or cats, or his owners. BiteyMouth, otherwise known as SmallDog, uses her extra-sharp teeth and ear-shattering yippy bark to herd wayward sheep back to the flock. (I seem to be the only living thing she confuses for a sheep, but I'm sure that's a sign of love.) Together, these two lovable caped canines had lots of adventures back in the heyday of TV crime-fighting cartoon characters. I'm sure you remember them: "The Case of the Chewed Up Shoe." "The Mystery of the Massive Pile of Dog Poop on the Rug." And, of course, my personal favorite, "That Time StinkyPee Dug a Hole in the Fence, Crawled Out, and Got Hit by the Car, Costing Us Much Heartache . . . and $2,000."

Stupid dogs. It's a good thing they have a swinging theme song.