After we got our precious girl Copper many years ago, we noticed she had a peculiar little habit. Food was disappearing off the coffee table or any other surface snout high. We thought it surely couldn’t be Copper, for she was so good about everything else. An angel sent from heaven as my wife says. But then we took the blinders off.
The first episode happened right around that first Christmas. A friend had brought over a plate of cookies which my wife innocently placed on the coffee table for guests to help themselves. We went into the dining room for dinner and when we walked back into the living room Copper was standing there, her face covered in powered sugar and not a cookie to be seen. Her innocent expression just said, “Got milk?”
Summertime was no different. Sitting in the living room having grilled hot dogs and hamburgers on a tray, we never ate in the kitchen . After a bite, I got up to get a glass of water, foolishly putting my tray down on the couch. When I returned seconds later, there was Copper with a little bit of ketchup on her snout. Her innocent expression just said, “Got sauerkraut?”
This all comes up now because last night my wife was asking me to quit kidding around, and to give the blackened chicken (blackened on purpose, I think) she had made for dinner back to her. She pointed to a very clean plate on the tray by the couch and just said, “Very funny honey. Just give me my dinner back.”
I admit I may have hidden a few meals throughout the years just to have some fun, but I didn’t know what she was talking about this time. What I do know is that Copper had the worst case of gas last night that almost forced me to sleep in the guest room. I’m now sure what happened to that meal. When I woke up this morning I looked at Copper with her innocent expression that said, “Got Beano?”
Yes, she was a “counter surfer”. We found out that Rhodesian’s are known for swiping food off of tables although I suspect it isn’t necessarily breed specific. She is a master counter surfer…nothing is spared and she is fast.
I’m sure there’s some funny stories out there about your own surfers. Don’t be shy, share them with the group!!
