All this storm activity on the East Coast especially here in New Jersey has got me thinking about how we dog owners have the perseverance of mail carriers. Even when Hurricane Sandy was wiping out the Jersey Shore, there I was, in 60 mile an hour winds, sheets of rain, and hail pelting me five times a day on the other end of a leash.

Now, Nemo is headed this way as to dump 6 to 10 inches of snow on us. And I know that 4 to 5 times a day I'm going to be in the snow, freezing my rear end off while I'm trying to encourage Jersey to go! First I'll try to convince her the snow is fun, at least more fun than standing in the rain chanting.

Pee pee, you gotta go Pee, pee, come on, Jersey, I know you got Pee pees. Be a good girl go pee pee! She looks at me like I'm crazy. Shush up, do you have to tell the entire neighborhood? And of course I do!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First there's a ritual before we go out, I gotta get ready and put on the right gear for the weather I'll be facing. Then I've got to get her to go out the door, sometimes easier said than done.

Once we get out the door, then I can tell if we are going to do this the hard way or the easy way. I'm always hoping for the easy way, a quick squat and a run back into the house. But, if it's raining hard or worse yet, if it's a cold, windy and raining hard, I've got problems.

I'll have to pull her out of the house, It's like I'm pull a tiny mule. Finally, she come out side and makes a circle right back in to the house. She gets this look on her face, like I'm punishing her or something, and shut down and be closed for business!

I don't care if she's bursting, she'll want nothing more than to head back in the house. As quick as possible, and I can't really blame her. I don't like being out there any more than she does. So then it's the hard way, at least for me because I always have to take her out when I'm writing, watching something important or not dressed to go out in the rain ,snow, or cold.

So if it's the hard way, that leaves me with no choice, except to walk her away from the house, so she doesn't see the front door and then I embarrass her into going to relieve herself. So, I start the chant and it works every time.

Pee pee, you gotta go Pee, pee, come on, Jersey, I know you got Pee pees. Be a good girl go pee pee! She gives me that look that says boy are you stupid, okay, okay I'll go and she assumes the position as she goes!

We both run back into the house, it just reminded me that dog owners have the perseverance of mail men when it comes to there dogs and bad weather, facing the bitter cold, torrential rains, and high winds, or heavy snows. Why because they have too!