Singing Opera with the Dogs

We have three dogs. Casey--the main dog. Lucky--the spare auxiliary dog. And Toby--the don't-ever- take-your-14- year -old-son- to-the-pet-store and say, "Sure we can look at the dogs" dog.

In case you are wondering, yes, three is too many dogs. One is a lot. Two sort of events things out because they keep each other company. And three... Well, three is just too many.

The funny thing about having multiple dogs is that they live in a pack. Remember in school when they talked about "pack order"? Well, in our house, it is John, me, Chase, Bethany (most days), Casey, Toby and Lucky. Dogs enjoy doing things in a pack, as long as the pack order is respected. We are very careful to hand out treats in order. When the dogs walk, we always let Casey walk slightly ahead of the other two, and for the record, John taught me this before the Dog Whisperer came along. (Part of his "growing up in the country" education.)

One of the favorite pack activities is singing opera. I usually start. Then Casey goes to find John to ask him to join in. Then, the five of us (well, not so much John) begin singing opera all together. The fun part is that we don't confine ourselves to classics like La Traviata. Instead we do Opera of the Mundane and sing about things like Chopping Broccoli, Wrapping Christmas Presents or my personal favorite, the Scion Aria.

I understand not everyone appreciates the musical genius of this, but the dogs do every time.