Dad means well, he really does.  But I’m a dog, and even I’m baffled by his poor sense of judgement.  Would you believe thanks to Dad’s silly mistake, Asa almost lost his Imaginary Friend?  After Dad accidentally broke the stove, he decided a new one would be the “perfect” birthday gift for Mom.  Unbelievable!  At no time did Dad stop to think about Asa’s Imaginary Friend who lives in the old oven!

When not glued to my side annoying me, Asa likes to spend time with his Imaginary Friend.  Sometimes he can be found in the living room window.  He’s even been known to follow Asa upstairs and appear in windows on the second floor.  But for the most part, Asa’s Imaginary Friend can be found hanging out in the oven window.  How dare Dad decide to replace the broken stove without first consulting with Asa about his friend’s home!  What would happen to him?  Would he leave when the old oven is hauled away?  Or would he happily move into the new one?  Being a quiet fellow, Asa’s Imaginary Friend’s lips were sealed.

When the day arrived for the old stove to leave, Asa playfully tried to coax his dear friend to come out of the oven.  But alas his Imaginary Friend just stared back at him, with the same goofy smile he always wears.  Asa got so nervous when the delivery men arrived, he barked!  Yes, Asa who never barks let out one little bark, then scurried into the safety of his crate to avoid the sad farewell.  Once the new stove was in place, Asa and I carefully inspected it for signs of his friend.  But alas, we could not find him.  Luckily that evening, Asa’s Imaginary Friend reappeared in the new oven window!  He’s not telling us where he was during those few tense hours, but Asa is just happy he’s back.

As for Mom, she’s grown accustomed to Dad’s idea of the “perfect” gift.  One year for Mother’s Day he helped Lemmy purchase a vacuum.  Seriously, he gave her an appliance that strikes fear with its strange noises and ability to eat everything in its path.  Then there was the year of her BIG birthday when Dad gave Mom snow tires.  Everyone knows full-size tires are too cumbersome to chew!  He should have given her the dog size ones they sell at pet stores.  Let’s also not forget for Christmas last year Dad gave Mom a refrigerator.  I honestly thought he couldn’t give her anything worse than an empty refrigerator, but somehow he topped himself with this year’s birthday present.  Who knew you could crack the ceramic stovetop?

Anyways, don’t worry Dad, I’ve got you covered.  Sure Mom seemed really happy over your gift.  However, once Mom is over the initial surprise and reality sets in that you gave her a stove…One I might add that doesn’t even have a tasty sticky residue of past meals on the outside or smells of burnt food when you open the oven door…I’m poised to sweep right in and present her with the best gift ever – a new tennis ball!  We all know how she can’t resist playing endless rounds of fetch with Asa and myself!  Maybe we could even bring her to the beach this weekend to test out the new ball in my ChuckIt Launcher?  It’ll be the best birthday yet, all thanks to me!  Oh and in the future Dad, please leave all gift ideas up to me!  You’re just lucky this story has a happy ending!