Storm Watcher

When I was a kid, my dogs were petrified of storms. I thought my dog Cocoa was going to have a heart attack every time it simply started thundering. Now, true, they were outside dogs, but I decided I did not want Boo (Leela Boo) to be that way. Being a mostly inside dog I'm sure helps, but I decided to be proactive.

During the very first storm we had when she was just a pup, I looked at her & told her to come with me. I said we were going to go check it out. It was thundering & lightning & we opened the back door & looked out. She was curious & a little uneasy, but I think she trusted me to keep her safe. We closed the back door & I told her we would go check out front. The storm was coming from the west.

I opened the front door & we stepped out onto the small covered porch. The gust front came through & the temperature dropped as the lightning & thunder got closer & closer. Her little ears perked up & she sniffed the air. What she didn't do was shake. She didn't cower, and she didn't cry.

I repeated this process with every storm & still do. I mean, I get excited to look out, too. It is tornado alley Oklahoma.

The only problem is that every time it storms I have to let her out to look at not just the back yard, but also the front. Because, you never know, there might be something different happening on the other side of the house!