Unlike me who is very paws-on, Phineas prefers to manage his blog, doodlewash and all the affairs of his humans, Charlie & Phillipe behind the scenes. Cleverly, Phineas has assigned Charlie to do all the work and be the front-dog.
I suspect that Charlie tends to click the “publish button” without Phineas’ editorial approval. Why? Because almost ALL the pictures of Phineas are Charlie’s water-color paintings of him rather than photos.
Also, Charlie has jumped to some conclusions about Phineas that we canines would NEVER assume about humans.
Cases in point (I quote Charlie):
“Since he was a rescue found growing up on the tough streets of Topeka, Kansas, we assume he must have a very small town view of the world. This, combined with his rather wrinkled brow that makes it seem like he’s always a bit irritated with something and judging you, led to us deciding he’s also an extremely ultra-conservative Republican.”
Phineas maneuvered Charlie with the very clever ploy that all us smart canines all know:
” . . . this little Basenji has had a wonderfully unique personality from day one. I still remember going to the shelter and seeing a scraggly little dog with hair so coarse it would almost hurt to touch it. I sat down on the floor of his pen to get to know him and within seconds, he leapt into my lap, rolled on his back and stared up at me. If I was at all undecided, it was clear that Phineas had already made the decision for us. I looked down into those mischievous brown eyes that seemed to say, “Dude, let’s get the hell out of here.” And so we did.”
“Creative” is Charlie’s “gig” . . . we canines just know how to get comfortable
“His first bit of time spent in his crate, he tore the stuffing out of his bed, which doesn’t seem odd for a dog who is bored. However, after pulling out all of the stuffing, he then re-stuffed it into a different shape, which he found to be more desirable. It felt good knowing I had a dog who was also creative. Though already one and half years old when he arrived, he had the energy, curiosity and enthusiasm of a puppy. It seriously wore me out and made me crazy some days, but I couldn’t fault him as these were also traits we shared.”
Charlie, Charlie, Charlie . . .you are suffering from human naiveté – Phineas doesn’t “ASSUME”, he KNOWS.
“Phineas has quite a rich and complex life that’s quite easy to overlook while simply watching him snoring on the couch. When we have dinner parties, it’s referred to as Phineas Café, not because he actually cooks anything, but because he thinks he owns this restaurant. And he will go up to each guest and won’t leave until they tell him the dinner was wonderful or at least satisfactory. Indeed, his demeanor seems to say that he owns this house and all of its inhabitants as well. When I published my recent book, we imagine Phineas saying, “Oh, no! I’m an author now! How much can one little dog do?” He takes credit for everything that happens in our lives, and assumes he must be in charge of it in some way.“
“I’m Charlie O’Shields, and I live in Kansas City, Missouri.I started doodlewash in July 2015 to capture little bits of the world in ink and watercolor. Even though I hadn’t picked up a pen to sketch in over 20 years and I’d only just used watercolor for the first time that day, I got super excited about it, and well, Doodlewash was born. (What’s a doodlewash? Click here!)”
“My posts are actually my art journal. . . paintings . . . all typically created in the precious little hour I’ve carved out for myself on a weekend or weekdays after work and before dinner!”
“You can also log into this site with your chosen social media provider and join the club! Doodlewash Club, to be exact. A totally free to join watercolor community where you can get your own artist profile, share your work in our global watercolor gallery, interact with other watercolor artists around the globe, and much, much, more!”
Jessica SORTING LIFE’S ISSUES WITH JESS.
She is hosting Dogs of Blogs, of which I am one.
Freddie’s Dogs of Blogs Posts:
Pingback: The Diary Of Phineas O'Shields ~ Doodlewash®
Love this! ❤️And yes, my secret is now well and truly out in the open. I’m really just a guy who hits Publish, and the real mastermind is a 29lb basenji sneezing orders in the background. I actually read this post aloud to Philippe. and Phineas was sitting nearby listening intently and nodding his approval at the bits that referred him entirely, perking up when his name was mentioned. At every mention of Charlie or anything else, he was notably perturbed, but calmed down a bit when the topic turned back to him.
And, I couldn’t love him any more than I do today. He’s an amazing dog and I’m so thrilled we met on that glorious day, when we well and truly rescued each other.
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Dear Phineas, Doggone Good Dog,
More proof you are the power behind your humans . . . getting your human Charlie to read to you and Philippe is commendable. We canines know that humans must keep their minds occupied and reading allowed is a good way to keep them out of trouble.
It’s even better that you have Charlie and Phillippe on intermittent reinforcement cycles of approval and perturbation . . . verrrrrry clever.
Frankly Freddie Parker Westerfield
Certified Human Trainer, roving reporter and editor-in-chief
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Thanks, Freddie! Phineas here! I took control of the comments for this one and wanted to compliment you on your post. I also insisted on making the post today on Doodlewash. It’s high time I showed up and had my say. Thanks for the inspiration my friend!
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Dear Phineas, Canine Dog,
Taking control is good. Curled up sleeping all day is lovely. I read your erudite post and it’s 4-paws up.
Frankly,
Freddie Parker Westerfield
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Yep, Phineas is pretty doggone cute and I think he has a strong hold on the leash, keeping Charlie and Philippe in control even though they like to fly to Paris once in a while.
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Dear Sharon Bonin-Pratt, human-being,
PARIS! Phineas didn’t tell me he was a polyglot. English, Caninean and French.
Frankly, Freddie Parker Westerfield
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