T–minus 10 seconds and counting. 10, 9, 8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1 blast off!!!!!
Every day he blasts out of his kennel rolling and yawing out into the yard, where he manages to complete his morning maneuvers with the grace of a ballerina strapped to the back of a London bendy bus going 60 miles and hour in four lanes of traffic. He comes back in doing his best to defy gravity despite gravity beating him at his own game, Rome is never one to quit trying. He races back into the house to the open front window where he barks out to the other neighbor dogs that he is the master of this domain and the ruler of his destiny. He stops briefly to survey the days bounty at the bottom of his bowl filled with kibble and gets distracted by the bright yellow ball he spies under the sofa. Forgetting his bounty he wedges him self under the couch to the retrieve the ball. Success! He returns to the bounty only to find that the bowl fill with his morning meal has been moved to higher ground so that his faithful companion Pike doesn't eat it.
Then he is distracted again by his dad. His dad has his work shoes in hand which means Rome is going to leave soon. He bounds around the house in excitement and jettisons himself towards the door and out into the rocket ship(car) with dad behind the wheel. This is the moment he has been waiting for all morning as he stand ready by the window just waiting for dad to roll it down. Rome thrusts his head out the window head long into the wind, ears flapping and nose poised to receive the crisp morning Intel. He smells his dog friends from the neighbor hood and the rain from far off places. He tastes the pollen and an occasional bug as his lips flap in the breeze. Rome knows he has to take it all in quickly and as dad approaches the highway the window will go up and he will be left with all of the delights of his morning swirling in his head.
When he arrives at work he greets his staff with a happy bounce, he will trot through the treatment area and out into his yard where he can gobble up a morning snack of cockroaches. He will come in and settle into his kennel and sleep for a few hours, dreaming of the places his nose has just taken him. Is he dreaming of far off lands and friends he knows, is he playing in the ocean and running on the beach? When he wakes up mid- morning he will stretch and bark for his dad to come and play with him. Dad will oblige sitting on the floor tossing the ball and the rope back and forth through the treatment area. Rome will go outside for a little time in the sun where he will lay on the hill and rest his weary eyes. When he comes back in he knows he is free to roam around the hospital for the the next couple hours while his dad and the staff perform surgery and procedures. He wanders around checking on their progress wishing just once he would be allowed into surgery( it is strictly prohibited) and making sure they are not missing anything. He peeks in on all the patients sleeping or resting in their cages, knowing to avoid certain ones and welcoming the chance to see other. He waits for his afternoon treat and then settles back in for a nap before his next car adventure home.
Rome waits while his dad prepares to leave the office for the day. He knows as soon as dad picks up his satchel that the day has come to an end and his journey home is only moments away. He bounds back out to the car and climbs in, turning quickly to rest his head on the window seal. Dad starts the car and Rome starts his senses, capturing the event that have transpired during the day. He points his head out into the air, hot and warm from the day. He taste the traffic and the bustle of the Kona as it lingers in the heavy thick air. His dad rolls up the window and he settles into the evening drunk on the last smells of the long day and excited about seeing the smallest members of his family. He checks in with Pike when he gets home making sure the household was safe and barking out from the front window to let everyone know the big dog is back in the house. He settles in for his dinner and lays by his dad keeping a watchful eye in case he is needed.
As night draws the day to a close Rome picks himself up off his bed and goes down stairs to his kennel. He climbs inside and rest his weary head. Soon dad will come down and close the door protecting the shoes in the house from his "sleep chewing episodes". He drifts off and dreams again about the what the morning light will bring when he blasts off again into the great beyond.
