What is this "New Normal" our humans keep talking about?

What is this “New Normal” our humans keep talking about?  Well, we don’t like it! 

It’s been over a month since we’ve visited the kids at Lovejoy Elementary and had them read books to us (oh how we LOVE that!).  Sometimes the kids don’t even finish reading their book (why should there be time constraints??), but the suspense holds us over until the next month when we get to head back! 

We haven’t gone to the airport to have people tell our parents over and over again how we’ve made their day or to get kids who were crying to stop and pet us, only to realize they were no longer sad.  And those special treats they call Puppacinos we would get at the Starbucks in the airport!  We really miss those!

We haven’t gone to the Methodist Richardson Hospital to visit patients who were sick or waiting for surgeries…or to calm families waiting in the Surgery Waiting Room, awaiting news on their loved ones.  We really do miss the nurses, too!  They are so nice and love to pet us, also!  We hear they are on the “frontline” and are really working hard to make everyone well.  I had no idea they were getting fleas and ticks and needed Frontline, too!  And oh, the gift shop in the hospital that gives us the best treats on the planet after we have volunteered!  YUM! 

We haven’t even gone to the Arden Courts Memory Care Community to love on their residents!  They play the nicest Cajun and Ragtime tunes on this thing they call a piano!  Yep, we miss that, too. 

We don’t know what has been going on, but it’s been going on for over a month!  Gone are the endless baths! Gone are the super fun car rides!  Gone are the wonderful sessions of love from children, patients, travelers, and residents!  One minute they are telling us dogs to maintain a “2 foot rule” and suddenly, it is changed to a “6 foot rule”!   How can I sniff my pals back end from 6 feet away?

Do you know what we’ve been doing since then?  Troy (my BFF from down the street) and I have been working our “tails off” sewing masks, that’s what! Troy cuts fabric and performs quality control, while I do the sewing.  Rain and Maserati (our other neighbors) are supposed to be helping us.  However, every time we turn around, they are messing around, dressing up in bunny ears, and playing with the masks! Why do girls think everything is some kind of accessory?  And Scout and Angel?  They haven’t even shown up for work since day ONE!  They’ve been MIA.  Then, they sent us pictures of themselves WEARING THE MASKS WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON, telling us they have a bunch of our fabric pieces being held hostage and that if we don’t send treats, they will burn them (just because you hide your face behind a mask doesn’t mean we can’t tell who you are, Scout and Angel)!  Is this some kind of Chihuahua thing?

There has got to be some kind of mistake going on!  We’ve gone from being lavished with luxury car rides and sweet lovin’ from people, to working in a sweat shop making these silly masks!  My mama says we will be making these masks until the virus is over and everyone is safe again.  I sure hope Frontline or someone else comes out with something for this virus people are getting soon!  We want things to go back to the way they were with our dog therapy visits! Until then, I’ll dream of books being read to me, strangers petting me and telling me how wonderful I am, and sinking my lips into those Puppacinos again.

Cyndi Daugherty