By Reef

Hi, my name is Reef, and I’m one of Howie Nave’s dogs who he adopted last summer from the Pet Network. I was asked to write a commentary from a dog’s perspective.

Maybe you heard me mentioned as he talks about me frequently on his morning radio show and posts way too many pictures of me and his other, older dog Brody on social media.

Before he took the week off Howie asked if I would fill in for him and I said, sure why not? It’s the least I could do considering I get complete run of the place and even have a doggie door for the backyard. He lets me and Brody sleep on the couch and when not around on his bed so why not write from a canine’s point of view? I think this is a good opportunity for you humans out there to get an idea of what it’s like from our perspective.

Oh, and I wanna thank the editor here since it’s not easy being able to type given the limitations having paws.

By the way, why is it before giving us something to eat we have to to sit and shake? Why must we give you our paw? It’s a treat for crying out loud. How would you like it having to jump through hoops just for something to eat? What if, for example I insisted that you roll over for me before getting a piece of pizza? Just tossing it out there. 

Being the latest addition to Howie’s place is a sweet gig I’m finding out. He’ll take us for long walks, sometimes off the beaten trail. And the best part is he’ll stop to let me and Brody sniff a tree or a patch of snow where another dog peed for as long as we want. For those of you who don’t do that just walking with no pause (not paws) please let your dog set the pace and let him or her stop more frequently to sniff things out. Why? Well, think of our walk as reading a book and sometimes we need to take a little longer with some of the chapters so we can better know the characters in the story. It’s the same with sniffing. This way we better understand the story by sniffing to find out who the characters are that came here before us and then we in turn leave a coda of sorts to let future dogs know that we too live in this neighborhood. I know, it’s kind of complicated.

It’s no surprise that this Lake Tahoe area that I call home is one of the dog friendliest places to live and not just because of all the trees either (although that is a big bonus for sure). As canines we’re very practical to have given the environment where we both live. Since residing at Howie’s place I have chased two bears away, one up a tree. I bet you didn’t know we can be a good deterrent if a bear wants to check your place out, huh? That’s not fake news either.

I was listening in when Howie had Ann Bryant (AKA the Bear Lady), executive director of the BEAR League based in Homewood on as his guest on his morning radio show. He’ll sometimes leave the radio on at his place in Meyers (gateway to South Lake Tahoe) so we know where he is. He will sometimes play songs that have animal themes to them (“Werewolves of London” is a favorite). 

This writing is kinda fun since I can’t talk, so maybe I’ll write more in the future so your species can get a different take from the viewpoint of a dog. It’s a good life being a canine (given the right home) and would like to take this opportunity for those who don’t have a dog to please consider adopting one. It’s a proven fact that we’re good for your health and relieve stress that this place tends to have at times. And, hey, maybe you’re not a dog person and that’s OK. I would then encourage you to adopt a cat if that makes you happier. I don’t know why that would, but any pet in your life is a good thing. We’re just good for your soul. Thank you for your time and opportunity to communicate from a dog’s perspective. 

Reef is Howie’s second dog who was adopted at The Pet Network in Incline and shares his home with Brody, Howie’s other dog who’s a senior citizen pushing 84 years of age.