The Unwelcomed Guest

As I was trying to get out the door today to visit my friend Cathy, Leo practically knocked me down as he attempted the great escape! I felt terrible Basset Mommy guilt because he hates to be left alone. His separation anxiety has actually been getting worse lately. I knew Cathy would probably be happy to see him, so I figured no harm in taking him along. As soon as I put him in my car, I had the unmistakable feeling that regret would be just around the corner. He wagged his tail, shook hair all over me, and jumped back and forth between the seats. We weren't even on the road two minutes and I already had a nice streak of jowl slime on my dashboard.
We pulled up to Cathy's house and he was so excited he almost wagged his little tail off. He jumped out and smelled all the good doggie smells buried under the snow. He was so over the top when he got into the apartment that he ran all over the place like a mad man smelling everything he possibly could. Since we were doing our Christmas exchange, there were lots of gifts under the tree. He poked his big black wet nose into all of the pretty gift bags until he found one in particular that peeked his curiosity. I didn't have a clue what was in it, but by the looks of him it appeared that he was about to  find out. I intercepted the gift (since the tag surely did not say LEO) and was about to put it on the coffee table, when I realized that it was really WET! He had drooled into the bag and unfortunately there was a book inside. He got the pages of the book wet and slimy, and the whole package stunk like swamp jowels. I soon discovered that there was a bag of trufles inside with the book !Well no wonder, he drooled! This little incident wasn't his only Basset Fopar either. He jumped on the couch like he owned it and before he got thrown off, he left his signature big trail of slime on the cushion. He also not so politely used Cathy's daughter's pant legs as a napkin. After all of these wonderful pleasantries, he headed for the door. He paced back and forth while he cried and wimpered as if to say "Ok, I wrecked the party, now let's get out of here and pee in the snow" He cut our visit short and even after all that, he was lucky enough to get a quick belly rub! Even more surprising, it wasn't from me, but actually given by the forgivingly sweet girl that he so rudely SLIMED! I think my friend Cathy was less than pleased with his company and if I had to venture a guess, I'd say, he shouldn't be expecting another inviation any time soon!