Series of unusual life events seems to run in the family

I often email my brother, Ron, copies of my columns to keep him up to date on the latest happenings from the home front.

My columns are normally based on real situations that happen within my personal life, but the other day, he turned the tables on me.

Ron and his wife, Linda, have a young golden retriever named Annie, who like most dogs, thinks she owns the house and Ron and Linda simply live with her.

Ron loves to cook, and the other night, he decided to make ribs using a new sauce recipe -- but wait, I'll let him tell you in his own words in a re­cent email I received.

"So, big excitement here last night after dinner. I tried a new rib recipe and it turned out great, and the sauce was very tasty, but it required the use of many dishes and afterward we faced some extra cleanup.  

"The dishwasher was very full, especially the bottom rack. Annie has taken it upon herself to voluntarily take the responsibility of checking each item as we loaded the dishwasher to be sure everything was rinsed properly. If anything did not pass her inspection, she did some pre-wash herself to lighten the work on the machine, and she seemed to really enjoy the sauce.

"She evidently noticed something a little further back inside the dishwasher that needed attention so she leaned in and cleaned it to her satisfaction. However as she tried to remove her head, her collar got tangled in the rack.

"I have no previous dog training background, but Annie seems to be very sensitive to anything new or unexpected. Anything that seems out of place, a new item sitting somewhere or even accidentally bumping into something that rattles or makes a strange sound will cause her to bark, get very timid or decide to just call it a day due to excessive stress and head directly for the bedroom.

"So now we can add yet another annoyance to her long list. It seems being stuck to a dishwasher rack full of plates and silverware doesn't sit well with her either. Suddenly things went sideways. I assume she thought the dishwasher was trying to eat her alive and she immediately went into panic mode.

At first she tried to run but was pulling the rack at an angle so it would not come out. However all of her pulling started to make everything inside the dishwasher rattle which added to her stress level.

"Our kitchen floor is smooth so Annie had no traction and she looked like a cartoon character spinning her legs into a blur but not going anywhere and simply falling down. Somehow, with all her jumping around suddenly, the rack got realigned. With the rack now free, she got some traction and the rack, dishes and silverware all came flying out of the dishwasher and onto the kitchen floor.

"After a few violent moves her collar disconnected and everything flew everywhere. The rack skidded across the floor and dishes and silverware were scattered as far as 10 feet away. Annie was at a point of barking, growling and just wanting to go to bed.

"Nothing was broken, she didn't get hurt and we managed to get it all back together. The whole thing took just a few seconds, but I am sure to Annie, it must have seemed like hours. It's too early to tell, but we may have lost the 'doggie pre-wash cycle' for our dishwasher permanently."

John Kasun writes from his home in Duncansville where he has the option of sitting at the computer until something happens or he gets an email from his brother because it appears as if strange things just run in the family.