My friends Clint and Christina are taking a well-deserved vacation to Europe this week, and they asked me to doggie-sit for them while they were away. “Free food!” Clint told me, knowing just how to humor a post-college bachelor who hates to grocery-shop.

They have two of the most beautiful golden retrievers you’ve ever seen, Brandy and Rusty. Brandy’s the older one and she’s always got this smug look on her face like she owns the world and you’re just living in it. I can tell she’s missing her parents though, because she spends 90% of her day just laying around waiting for something to happen.

Or then again, maybe she just wants us to feel sorry for her. Either way, I’m not buying it. She’s getting fed well, two walks per day, in/out house privileges, and a doggie biscuit every day. What more do they want from us?

Rusty’s the young buck who’s still trying to find his place in the pack. He’s full of energy all the time and loves to antagonize the other one by nipping at her leg or plopping himself down right on top of her head while she’s napping. Rusty has these chew toys he loves to get all slobbery and then come drop right in your lap while you’re trying to work.

It’s great. I’m gonna get attached, I just know it.

I’ve been working on a new tune called “Something More,” and I think I’m keeping the neighbors up with my incessant “take1, take 2″ repetition — trying to work out the syncopated jazz guitar part in my head while singing a melody that’s got a different rhythm all its own. If I can make this work, it’s gonna be a fantastic tune.

Otherwise, I’m just gonna have pissed off neighbors.